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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Counting and Ordering Numbers Worksheet Pack
Support counting and ordering numbers with this handy worksheet pack that helps students build early numeracy skills quickly and confidently.
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Rounding Numbers – Teaching Slides
Teach the basics of rounding numbers with this engaging animated PowerPoint.
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Tens Frame Mats (Single and Double)
Introduce these tens frame mats to your students to promote number sense with hands-on learning.
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Number Recognition Worksheets — Numbers 1 - 20
Use these number recognition worksheets to help your students master a variety of maths skills for the numbers 1 through 20.
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Busy Binder - Morning Work Pages for Kindergarten
Review daily calendar, maths, literacy, and fine motor skills with a printable morning work pages!
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Dotted Numbers 0-20 Handwriting Sheet
Get your students writing numbers from 0-20 with this number formation worksheet available in Australian school fonts.
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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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0–20 Number Matching Game
A matching game using numbers, written words, dice, and animal pictures from 0 to 10.
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Hundreds Board
A hundreds chart that can be used for a variety of activities.
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Number Handwriting Practise Worksheets
Provide number handwriting practise to your students with this set of worksheets for the numbers 0 through 20.
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Tracing Numbers 0-10 Handwriting Worksheet
Get your students tracing numbers from 0-10 with this number formation worksheet available in Australian school fonts.
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Numbers 1-20 Puzzle Pack
Identify and sequence the numbers from 1 to 20 with a set of Numbers 1-20 puzzles for kids.
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Subitising Game — Memory
Use this subitising game to help your students learn to quickly subitise numbers 1 - 12.
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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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Count and Graph Worksheet Pack
Explore counting and graphing skills with this set of three worksheets.
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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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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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Ten Frame Printable — Monster Teeth
Delight your students with this ten frame printable activity. This resource reinforces number recognition by inviting them to add teeth to monster-themed ten frames.
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Colour By Number - Numbers 10-20
An engaging activity to consolidate your students’ recognition of two-digit numbers.
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Number, Name and Ten Frame Match-Up Cards 1-30
Cards to consolidate numerals, names and values up to 30.
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Number Recognition Assessment Pack
Utilise this Number Recognition Assessment Pack to evaluate your students’ progress in recognising the numbers 0 through 120.
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Jellyfish Count to 10 Match-Up Craft
Use this fun teaching resource to help consolidate your students’ knowledge of counting to 10.
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One More, One Less - Worksheet
Practise foundational addition and subtraction facts using the concepts of one more and one less.
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Base Ten Block Matching Cards (Numbers 1 - 120)
Connect base ten block representations with numerals with these multi-use matching cards.
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Fractions on a Number Line – Differentiated Worksheets
Practise plotting and counting by fractions on a number line with this set of differentiated worksheets.
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Numbers and Words to 20 – Worksheet Pack
Use this set of worksheets when students are practising connecting numbers to words and quantities.
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Subitising to 10 Worksheet
Practise subitising to 10 with your students using this printable worksheet set.
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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 practising how to count by ones.
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Counting 1-20 Matching Game for Foundation and Grade One
Use this matching game in your early years classroom to teach students to count quantities and match them to numbers (1-20).
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Sequencing Activities — Numbers 1-9 Sausage Dog
Use our sequencing activities like this sausage dog to help your students practise ordering the numbers 1 - 9.
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Find the Numbers - Worksheets for Kindergarten
Practise number identification with printable Number Hunt Math Worksheets for kindergarten.
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Bar Model Poster Pack
Help your students solve problems using the four operations with a pack of printable strip diagram anchor charts.