Number Lines Teaching Resources

Download printable number lines, activities and worksheets to help students as they develop their understanding of counting, operations, fractions and more primary maths skills. Save time on your maths lesson planning with printables that are ready to be downloaded and used in the classroom!

This teaching resource collection was created by the teachers on the Teach Starter team to align to the Australian curriculum and includes number lines for positive and negative integers, time number lines and classroom number lines that can be printed and displayed on the classroom wall or your students' desks for a variety of maths activities.

Build your students' number sense, expand their understanding of fractions and more with this powerful collection!

New to using this tool in the maths classroom, or just looking for some fresh ideas for teaching with number lines? Explore a primer from the teachers on the Teach Starter team!

What Is a Number Line?

A number line is a visual representation of numbers that is usually represented as a straight line. The numbers are usually represented as points on the line, and the distance between each number corresponds to the difference in value between them.

In a primary school setting, you can use a number line to introduce basic mathematical concepts and to help students develop their number sense. They can be used for a wide variety of different activities such as counting, comparing numbers, teaching decimals and plenty more.

How Do Number Lines Help Students?

This tool has a number of applications in helping build numbers skills,  some of which may surprise you! Take a look at the ways these can help your students:

• They aid learning by providing a visual representation of numbers and their relative positions.
• They make it easier for students to understand concepts such as addition, subtraction and fractions, as well as to visualise and compare numbers.
• They can be used to introduce negative numbers and to understand the concept of absolute value.
• Number lines can help students develop their number sense (aka the ability to understand and work with numbers in a flexible and efficient way).

How Do You Put Fractions in a Number Line?

Number lines come in handy when you're teaching fractions in primary school — both by helping kids visualise the relationship between fractions and whole numbers and by allowing them to see the relative sizes of fractions.

One of the most common stumbling blocks for students is putting fractions in a number line. Here's how to do this, step by step:

1. Determine the range of the number line. For example, if a student wants to put fractions between 0 and 1 on the number line, they'll need to draw a line segment from 0 to 1.
2. Divide the line segment into equal parts. The number of equal parts will depend on how many fractions your student wants to include on the line. If the plan is to include 4 fractions, for example, they would divide the line segment into 4 equal parts.
3. Label the endpoints of the line segment with the whole numbers that correspond to them. For example, they could label the left endpoint as 0 and the right endpoint as 1.
4. Label the other points on the line segment with the fractions you want to include. To do this, students need to determine the location of each fraction on the number line. They can do this by finding a common denominator for all of the fractions and then dividing the line segment into that many equal parts.
5. Plot each fraction on the number line by marking the appropriate point and labeling it with the corresponding fraction. You can also have your students shade in the region of the number line that corresponds to the set of fractions they are interested in.

Students may also need to partition a number line into equal parts as part of their study of fractions! To do this, instruct your students to put the 0 and 1 tick marks at the ends of the line, look at how many equal parts are needed, and draw one fewer tick mark.

For example, if a student is dividing a line into eighths, they draw the 0 and 1 markers and draw seven ticks (this will ultimately give them eight equal spaces).

5 Creative Ways to Use Number Lines in Your Maths Classes

Looking for fresh ways to use number lines? Explore our collection for printable activities and ideas, and explore this list of favourites from our teacher team!

1. Create a Scavenger Hunt — Have your students go on a hunt for specific numbers on the number line scavenger hunt style. They can also be given a range of numbers to find and write down the numbers that fall within that range.
2. Use the Number Line for a Drawing Activity — Incorporate the number line into a drawing activity. For example, kids can draw an ocean that shows the depth below sea level or integrate a number line into a drawing that has a thermometer to show positive and negative temperatures.
3. Number Line Sidewalk Art — Here's another fun art activity you can do with this handy tool. Students can draw horizontal and vertical number lines with sidewalk chalk then physically move between numbers, showing how to represent addition, subtraction, rounding and more. This is a great way to incorporate movement into the school day too.
4. Number Lines with Clothespegs — Students can sequence clothespegs marked with integers, fractions or decimals. This helps with fine motor concepts for younger students, while older students can be challenged to match equivalent value pegs on their number line. (Such as equivalent fractions, decimals and percentages)
5. Number Line Riddles — Bring some serious fun to your number line activities. Give your students a riddle they can solve with the use of a number line!