Number Sense Teaching Resources
Browse printable number sense worksheets, hands-on maths activities and more teacher resources created by teachers for teachers like you!
These resources are aligned with the Australian Maths Curriculum, and each was created by teachers with teachers — and students — in mind to help build foundational maths skills in ways that engage and excite students about numbers!
Want to learn more about number sense? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including a definition of number sense, how to assess this important maths skill and more!
What Is Number Sense?
In the most basic sense (no pun intended), number sense refers to a student's intuitive understanding of numbers and their relationships. It includes the ability to estimate and compare quantities, understand numerical patterns and relationships and make reasonable judgments about the accuracy of calculations.
When students show an understanding of numbers, their size, relationships,and how they are affected by the four mathematical operations, what they're really showing is their number sense.
In an educational setting, building number sense is closely related to other foundational skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking and logical reasoning. As our students get older, it will become a crucial skill for daily life they will use to manage finances, calculate time and make decisions based on numerical information.
Teach Starter Teacher Tip: Although the names may seem interchangeable, it's worth noting that number sense is not the same as mathematical fluency or memorisation of algorithms, but rather a deep understanding of the underlying concepts and relationships between numbers.
When Does Number Sense Develop?
There is no single year level when we're teaching students number sense — instead, it continues to develop and become more sophisticated as students progress through primary school.
Research suggests that babies as young as 6 months old can distinguish between small and large numbers of objects, and by prep, students are already working on number sense as they begin to learn counting and one-to-one correspondence. At this level, they're also beginning to develop an understanding of quantity and relative size — both key to overall number sense.
Number sense will continue to grow in primary school as students become more adept at recognising and using numbers to solve problems, and it continues into high school and — for many students — into university.
Assessing Number Sense
When we assess students for their number sense skills, there are certain mathematical concepts that they should have under their belts. These include:
- Ability to Recognise Missing Numbers in a Pattern —When kids can fill in missing numbers in a sequence, they're showing that they can make connections between numbers and develop an understanding of the relationships between them.
- Ability to Use Maths Mentals — Students with number sense can use maths mentals to solve problems involving the four basic operations.
- Ability to Engage in Systematic Counting — Children who can count systematically can more easily understand the relationships between numbers, including number magnitude, patterns and sequences.
- Ability to Subitise Numbers — Students can use visual clustering skills to instantly recognise how many objects are in a group without physically counting them.
- Ability to Relate Numbers to Real-World Problems —For example, a student may understand that '3' means 'three objects' or 'three days' or 'three dollars.'
- Ability to Compose and Decompose Numbers — Students use number sense when they break down numbers and put them back together. For example, a student who can break down the number 10 into 8 and 2, then add the two back together to again make 10, is using number sense.
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Numbers and Words to 20 – Worksheet Pack
Use this set of worksheets when students are practising connecting numbers to words and quantities.
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Counting Objects Bear Hunt – Numbers 1–10
Use one-to-one correspondence and basic counting skills with this hands-on game.
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Four in a Row – Numbers 1–10
Match picture cards with numerals to practise counting to 10.
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Representations of Numbers 1-20 Flashcards
Practise representations of numbers 1 - 20 in your classroom with this versatile set of flashcards.
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Hundreds Board Mystery Picture Task Cards
A set of 32 activity task cards that require students to colour in a hundreds chart to reveal a mystery picture.
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Prime Numbers - Assorted Backgrounds
Prime numbers displayed on a hundreds board.
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Counting Numbers 0-20 Teaching Slides
Explore counting numbers as students learn to name, represent and order numbers with this ready‑made teaching slide deck.
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Number Grid Interactive Activity
Share this number grid interactive activity with your students to give them practice adding and subtracting ten and one from a given number.
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Numbers in the Environment Worksheet
Practise identifying numbers in the environment with this "seek-and-find" worksheet.
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Counting to 20 Task Cards
Practice counting objects up to 20 with this set of 16 task cards.
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Search and Find Bowerbird Worksheets
Explore images to find and count objects for a bowerbirds nest and bowerbirds themselves.
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Hands-On Numbers 1-10 Caterpillar Activity
Match numbers 1-10 with their various visual representations to build a fun mathematical caterpillar!
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Comparing Integers – Maths Mazes
Compare positive and negative numbers while you work your way through this set of maths mazes.
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I Have Who Has – Numbers 1–20
Practise identifying numbers 1–20 with this set of “I Have, Who Has” game cards.
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Comparing Two Digit Numbers — Clash Game for Year 1
Practise comparing two-digit numbers with the help of this year 1 board game.
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Rounding to the Nearest Ten - Interactive Activity
Practise rounding two-digit numbers to the nearest ten with this interactive Google Slides activity.
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Comparing Three-digit Numbers – Worksheet
Practise comparing three-digit numbers with this hands-on worksheet.
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Subitising Dominoes
Use these subitising dominoes to give your students practise subitising small collections of objects.
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Double Plus 1 – Game Boards
30 game boards to use when working with near doubles.
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Ten Frame Number Posters (0-20)
Decorate your classroom with our ten frame number posters that will delight your animal-loving students while providing concrete representations of the numbers 0-20.
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Counting 1-20 Number Game
Practise counting from 1-20 with this fun alien-themed counting game.
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Sequence Puzzle for Numbers 1-10 — Gingerbread Man
Share this sequence puzzle with your students for a fun way to practise ordering the numbers 1 - 10.
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Subitising Games — Leapfrog!
Play this subitising game in your classroom to help your students practise subitising small collections.
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Number Recognition Printable Dot Maze Pack
Utilise these number recognition printable worksheets to help your students identify the numbers 1 through 20.
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Alien-Themed Counting Worksheet
Use these alien-themed counting worksheets to help your students count quantities between 1 and 10.
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I Can Count To Ten – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Use this set of counting worksheets to help your students sequence numbers from 0 to 10.
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Counting Crowns Numbers 1-10
Create number crowns when learning to count to ten with this set of crown templates.
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Counting to 20 I Have, Who Has? Card Game
Show student knowledge of counting to 20 with this fun I Have, Who Has? Counting Card Game.
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Counting Objects Dominoes Numbers 11–20
Practise counting objects by matching 28 numeral and picture dominoes.
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Ice Cream Counting Game
Help students practise their knowledge of counting numbers 1-20 with this fun ice cream matching game.
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Numbers 1 - 20 Mini Number Books Pack
Introduce the numbers 1 - 20 with these mini books full of activities that are sure to sharpen students' number recognition skills.
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Real World Applications of Positive and Negative Numbers – Worksheet
Use positive and negative numbers to represent quantities in real-world scenarios with this worksheet.