Number Sense Teaching Resources
Browse printable worksheets, hands-on math center activities and more teaching resources designed to teach number sense in the elementary classroom.
Developing number sense is an important building block for elementary math students and unlocks a deeper understanding of numbers and their relationships. Aligned with Common Core, each worksheet, game and century activity was created by teachers with teachers — and students — in mind to help build those 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 math 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 memorization of algorithms, but rather a deep understanding of the underlying concepts and relationships between numbers.
When Does Number Sense Develop?
There is no one grade level when we're teaching students number sense — instead, it continues to develop and become more sophisticated as students progress through elementary school.
Research suggests that babies as young as 6 months old can distinguish between small and large numbers of objects, and by preschool, 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 elementary school as students become more adept at recognizing and using numbers to solve problems, and it continues into high school and — for many students — into college.
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 Recognize 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 Mental Math — Students with number sense can use mental math 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 Subitize Numbers — Students can use visual clustering skills to instantly recognize 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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Kindergarten Counting 1-20 Matching Game
Use this matching game in your primary classroom to teach students to count quantities and match them to numbers (1-20).
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I Can Count to 5 Mini-Book
Count small objects up to 5 with this printable counting mini book.
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Aliens in a Spaceship Counting and Subitizing Game
Download a fun, hands-on game for teaching kids to count and use one-to-one correspondence or to subitize.
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Search and Find – Back to School
Start the school year with a fun Back to School math activity for first graders.
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Subitizing Activity — Clip Cards (Numbers 1 - 10)
Share this subitizing activity with your students to give them hands-on practice subitizing to 10.
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Tracing Numbers 0-20
Practice writing numbers 0–20 with this tracing activity.
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Numbers in the Environment Worksheet
Practice identifying numbers in the environment with this "seek-and-find" worksheet.
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Spring "Numberpillars" — Kindergarten Caterpillar Puzzles
Match numbers 1-10 with their various visual representations to build fun caterpillar puzzles!
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Kindergarten Number Worksheets
Use this set of worksheets when students are practicing connecting numbers to words and quantities.
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Free Counting From 1 to 10 Activity — Hands And Numbers Template
Teach counting from 1 to 10 and one-to-one correspondence with a creative (and free) printable activity for preschool, kindergarten, or 1st grade.
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Printable Ten Frames (Single and Double)
Introduce these printable ten frames to your students to promote number sense with hands-on learning.
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Ten Frame Printable Templates
Use these printable ten frames in various math lessons to reinforce number sense and other essential skills.
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Subitizing Assessment Pack
Utilize our Subitizing Assessment Pack to test your students' ability to subitize quantities up to 10.
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Paralympic Games Count and Color Worksheets
Count and tally Paralympic icons with our engaging I Spy Worksheets, perfect for enhancing your students' observation and counting skills.
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Number Recognition Worksheet Pack
Use this collection of number recognition worksheets to help your students practice recognizing the numbers 0 through 20 in many forms.
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Kindergarten Math Flip Book (Ordering Numbers)
Delight your students with this math flip book that will help them solidify their understanding of counting and ordering the numbers 1 through 20.
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Subitizing Game — Memory
Use this subitizing game to help your students learn to quickly subitize numbers 1 - 12.
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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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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 Handwriting Practice Worksheets
Provide number handwriting practice to your students with this set of worksheets for the numbers 0 through 20.
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Number Recognition Printable Dot Maze Pack
Utilize these number recognition printable worksheets to help your students identify the numbers 1 through 20.
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Firetruck Color By Number Worksheet
Build number identification skills with a printable Firetruck Color by Number Worksheet.
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Counting to 10 Partner Games
Play games and practice counting to 10 with these fun partner game templates.
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Counting to 20 Cut and Paste Worksheet
Count objects within 20 and match the total to its written number on this 2-page cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Roll, Count, and Cover - Dot Day Activities
Build fine motor skills and counting skills with a set of printable Roll, Count, and Color Dot Day Activities.
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Halloween Math Worksheets - Spooky Ten Frames
Model numbers to twenty using ten frames with a spooky Halloween math worksheet for kindergarten.
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Composing and Decomposing Numbers - Instructional Slide Deck
Introduce composing and decomposing numbers to your students with this instructional slide deck.
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Frog and Flies Match-Up Activity (Counting to 12)
Practice counting numbers 1 to 12 with this fun frog and fly match-up activity.
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Search and Find – Food Edition
A fun, search and find counting activity
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Dot-to-Dot Worksheets – Counting by Ones
Use this set of 3 dot-to-dot worksheets to get your youngest students practicing how to count by ones.
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Color by Number - Numbers 0–9
A color by number activity for students to practice number recognition.
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Counting to 20 Task Cards
Practice counting objects up to 20 with this set of 16 task cards.