Number Line

How to use the Number Line tool

1. Type a title in “Title on the sheet”, or keep the default, Number Lines.
2. In “Start at”, type the number the line begins with (default 0). In “End at”, type the number it ends with (default 10). Negative start numbers work too.
3. Open “Count by” and choose a step: 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 100, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, or a fraction such as 1/4.
4. If your step is a fraction, pick “Fraction labels”: Mixed numbers (1 1/4) or Fractions only (5/4).
5. Set “Number lines on the page” to the number you need, from 1 to 8 (default 5).
6. Under “Labels”, choose Label every tick, Fill in the missing labels, or No labels (blank lines). For missing labels, pick about a quarter, half or three quarters under “How many labels are missing”.
7. Under “Jump problems”, choose None, Jumps drawn as arcs, or Written prompts. If you add jumps, set “Direction” and “Jumps per problem”.
8. Leave “Include answer key” checked if you want answers on a separate page.
9. Check the preview, then select “Print or save as PDF”. You can set paper size to US Letter or A4 first.

The preview updates as soon as you change a setting. The page address stores your settings, so a bookmarked or shared link opens the same sheet. “New worksheet” gives a different sheet with the same settings, and “Reset settings” restores the defaults.

What is a number line?

A number line is a straight line on which numbers are placed in order, with smaller numbers on the left and larger numbers on the right. The spaces between neighboring marks are equal, so the distance between any two numbers shows how far apart they are.

Zero sits in the middle of a line that goes below zero, and the numbers to its left are negative. Fractions and decimals also have places on the line. Between 0 and 1, for example, 1/2 sits halfway along, and 3/4 sits three-quarters of the way.

How do you add and subtract on a number line?

Start at the first number. To add, move right by the amount you are adding; to subtract, move left. The number you land on is the answer. For 7 + 3, start at 7, make 3 steps to the right, and land on 10.

Equal jumps show repeated addition or subtraction. On a line from 0 to 20, “make 4 jumps of 5” is the same idea as 4 × 5. Backward equal jumps are repeated subtraction, which leads into division. A sum like 18 − 4 − 4 − 4 = 6 is three backward jumps of 4.

A child who lands one tick off has usually counted the starting tick as the first jump. Ask them to say where they started, then count the jumps out loud.

How do I make a number line with negative numbers?

Type a negative number in “Start at”, such as -5, and a positive number in “End at”, such as 5. Keep “Count by” at 1 so every whole number from -5 to 5 has a tick. The line then shows zero in the middle and the negative numbers on the left.

Negative numbers make subtraction easier to picture. To work out 3 − 5, start at 3 and move 5 steps left; you pass zero and land on -2. Older students meeting numbers below zero can use this line to check their answers.

How do I make a blank number line?

Choose “No labels (blank lines)” under “Labels”. Each line prints with tick marks only, so the child writes in the numbers. A blank number line to 10 or to 20 works well for counting on, and a blank line to 100 can be used with a step of 10.

Missing labels are a middle option. Choose “Fill in the missing labels” and keep both ends labeled. A line from 37 to 47 with half the labels missing shows quickly whether a child can count on from a number other than zero.

Which number lines suit each grade?

For kindergarten and 1st grade, use 0 to 10 or 0 to 20 counting by 1, with jumps drawn as arcs, forward only, and one jump per problem. Children read the picture and write the number sentence.

For 2nd grade, use 0 to 100 counting by 10, or 0 to 20 counting by 2 or 5 for skip counting. Choose written prompts with mixed directions so children draw the arcs and show how they are thinking. This matches the 2nd grade standard on sums and differences on a number line (2.MD.B.6).

For 3rd grade, use 0 to 1 or 0 to 2 counting by 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/6 or 1/8 (3.NF.A.2). Equal jumps, such as 3 jumps of 4, introduce multiplication.

For 4th grade, print one sheet from 0 to 1 by 1/10 and another by 0.1 to connect tenths written both ways (4.NF.C.6). Use 0 to 1000 by 100 for rounding.

For 5th grade, use 0 to 2 by 0.25, with mixed numbers and fractions past one, and missing-label lines for decimals.