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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Subitise to 10 Task Cards — Number Talks
Help your students subitise to 10 and beyond with these number talk task cards.
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I Have, Who Has – Rounding to 500 000
Use this engaging maths game to practise rounding numbers through 500 000 with your students.
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Counting Collections to 20 Worksheet
A place value worksheet for students to use when counting small collections.
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Counting Crocodiles - Numbers 1 to 10 Worksheet
A crocodile themed place value worksheet to use when identifying and counting numbers from 1 to 10.
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Lush Leaves Blue - Numbers 1 to 100 Chart
A lush tropical leaves themed hundreds board.
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1-9 Number and Value Match-Up Worksheet
Match-up 1-9 numbers and words with this simple and easy to use worksheet.
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Ordinal Numbers Worksheet
A worksheet to help students consolidate their understanding of ordinal numbers.
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Hands and Numbers 1-10 Counting Activity Template
Teach counting from 1 to 10 and one-to-one correspondence with a creative (and free) printable activity.
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Frog in a Pond - Colour by Numbers
Colour by numbers is a fun and easy way to help students recognise digits.
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1 to 20 Dump Truck Number Cards
Support early number sense with these number cards 1 to 20 through a fun dump truck counting activity.
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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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Many Candles Counting Birthday Cake Activity
‘Gift’ this many candles counting birthday cake activity to your students for hands-on counting and number representation practice.
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Number Ordering Game (Numbers 1 - 10)
Play this number ordering game for a fun way to increase student skill in ordering numbers 1 - 10.
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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 Worksheets Variety Pack
Incorporate these subitising worksheets into your lessons to give your students practise subitising collections up to 12.
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Subitising to 10 Interactive Task Cards
Practise subitising to 10 with these varied and engaging interactive task cards.
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Subitising Dice - Numbers 1 to 9
Practise subitising to 9 with your students using this versatile set of dice flashcards.
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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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Numbers in the Environment Worksheet
Practise identifying numbers in the environment with this "seek-and-find" worksheet.
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Ten Frame Variety Pack
Enliven your ten frame activities with this variety pack that contains both single and double ten frame templates.
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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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Subitising Card Game
Utilise this subitising card game to reinforce number recognition and subitising skills with some friendly competition!
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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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Finger Counting Cut and Paste
Count to ten using this finger counting cut and paste worksheet.
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Spin, Count and Colour Counting Game
Practise counting skills with this fun spin, colour and count game for pairs.
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Build a City Counting Game
Build towers consisting of numbers up to 10 with this fun build a city 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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Search and Find Bowerbird Worksheets
Explore images to find and count objects for a bowerbirds nest and bowerbirds themselves.
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Number Talk Task Cards - Ten Frames
Build number sense skills with this set of 30 ten and double ten frame maths talk task cards.
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Adding and Subtracting Integers - Tarsia Puzzle
Practise adding and subtracting integers with a printable Tarsia puzzle!
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Pirate's Plunder - Number Line Subtraction Game
Practise using the jump strategy for subtraction from 20 with an exciting pirate-themed maths game.
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Understanding Exponents – Task Cards
Practise rewriting, comparing and evaluating expressions with exponents with this set of task cards.