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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I Can Count to 5! – Mini Book
A mini book that allows students to count small numbers of objects.
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I Can Count - Worksheet
A worksheet for students to practise counting up to 10 objects.
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Numbers 1–10 Dominoes
A set of dominoes to consolidate students’ understanding of number from 1–10.
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Number 20 - Worksheet
An activity worksheet to use in the classroom when learning about the number 20.
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Number 15 - Worksheet
An activity worksheet to use in the classroom when learning about the number 15.
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Number 13 - Worksheet
An activity worksheet to use in the classroom when learning about the number 13.
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Cover Up! – Subitising Numbers Game
A game to practice subitising numbers 1–6.
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Number Worksheet - 10
An activity worksheet to use in the classroom when learning about 10.
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Number Worksheet - 8
An activity worksheet to use in the classroom when learning about 8.
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Numbers 1-30 Posters - Tallies, Tens Frames and MAB Blocks
Posters showing numbers 1-30 with associated images.
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Numbers in the Environment - Number Hunt Worksheet
A busy street themed number hunt worksheet for students to identify a range of numbers in the environment.
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Numbers 1 to 10 – Poster
A poster of numbers in different forms.
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Tens Number, Word and MAB Block Posters - V2
Posters showing numbers going up in tens.
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Tens Number, Word and MAB Block Posters
Posters showing numbers going up in tens.
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Counting to Twenty Poster - Colour
A poster showing numbers and words from one to twenty.
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Maths Activity Ideas for Parents - Place Value
An information sheet for parents or carers to use when assisting children with place value at home.
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Rainbow Starburst - Numbers 1 to 100 Chart
A rainbow starbursts themed hundreds board.
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Friends of 20 Dominoes
A set of dominoes to use in the classroom when matching friends of 20.
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Racing Car Ordinal Numbers 1st - 10th
Racing cars with the number and the corresponding word for each ordinal number position.
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Double Minus 1 – Game Boards
30 game boards to use when working with near doubles.
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Numbat Nelly's Number Making Challenge Booklet
A fun activity to use in the classroom for students to share their knowledge of numbers from 0 to 10.
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Numbers and Words 0-10 Word Search with Answers
Use this Word Search to help your students work with identifying numerals and their name.
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Numbers 0-9 with Animal Values
Posters representing the numbers from 0-9 with different animals showing their values.
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Remembrance Day Count and Graph Worksheet
Practise counting and graphing with a Remembrance Day Maths worksheet.
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Remembrance Day Activity - Counting Peg Cards
Practise counting sets of objects with a group of 15 printable Remembrance Day peg cards.
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Halloween Counting to 10 Worksheets
Count, write, and match numbers and objects with printable Halloween counting worksheets.
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Halloween Tracing Numbers Worksheets
Trace and write numbers to twenty with a set of spooky Halloween tracing numbers worksheets.
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Comparing Numbers-Halloween Word Problems
Practise comparing numbers using MAB blocks with a Halloween Maths word problem worksheet.
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Numbers About Me Worksheet
Let your students introduce themselves in numbers with this fun 'Numbers About Me' back-to-school template.
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Rounding Task Cards (Numbers to 100 000)
Use place value knowledge and vertical number lines to round numbers up through the hundred thousands place with a set of 24 task cards.
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A New Monarch - A Royal 'I Spy' Worksheet
Count and find the royal symbols that represent the King's Coronation.
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Exponential Expressions – Match-Up Activity
Match numerical expressions with exponents to their expanded expressions and solutions with this match-up activity.
- Number Sense Worksheets
- Number Sense Games
- Number Sense Posters
- Number Sense for Preschool/Kindergarten
- Number Sense for Foundation Year
- Number Sense for Year 1
- Number Sense for Year 2
- Number Sense for Year 3
- Number Sense for Year 4
- Number Sense for Year 5
- Number Sense for Year 6
- Number Sense for Year 7