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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Using Tape Diagrams to Find the Whole From a Percentage – Worksheet
Calculate the whole from a percentage using tape diagrams with this worksheet.
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Find the Whole From a Percentage Worksheet
Practise how to find the whole from a percentage with this standard-practice worksheet.
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Easter Hundreds Board Mystery Pictures
A set of 9 Easter-inspired mystery hundreds charts.
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Pop Art Products - Basketball Colour By Number Worksheet
Bring some pop art into the classroom with a multiplication colour-by-number worksheet.
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Understanding Exponents – Task Cards
Practise rewriting, comparing and evaluating expressions with exponents with this set of task cards.
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Number Recognition Worksheet - Sloth Colour-by-Number
Use the number colour coding on this colouring sheet to create a cute sloth-themed picture.
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Subitise and Exercise
Get active with this subitise and exercise teaching brain break presentation.
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Counting Objects Bear Hunt – Numbers 1–10
Use one-to-one correspondence and basic counting skills with this hands-on game.
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100th Day Find and Colour - Numbers
Look for numbers with a 100th day of school find and colour worksheet.
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Comparing Two Digit Numbers — Clash Game for Year 1
Practise comparing two-digit numbers with the help of this year 1 board game.
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Counting Objects Hunt – Numbers 1–10
Use one-to-one correspondence skills to practise counting objects up to 10.
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Number Match Treasure Hunt
Have students gather the treasure and make matches of numerals, quantities and number names with this match-up activity.
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Counting Peg Cards – On the Farm
Practise counting objects with a set of 18 farm-themed counting peg cards.
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Rounding Task Cards
Use place value knowledge to round numbers to the nearest ten through to the nearest hundred thousand with this set of 20 task cards.
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100 Chart Mystery Picture Puzzle
Practise identifying numbers within 100 with this set of 44 number cards and hundreds board.
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I Have, Who Has – Rounding to 500 000
Use this engaging maths game to practise rounding numbers through 500 000 with your students.
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1 to 20 Dump Truck Number Cards
A set of dump truck themed number cards to use in the classroom when counting from 1 to 20.
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Ten in the Bed - Counting Activity
A fun hands-on 'Ten in the Bed' number rhyme activity to help students sequence numbers and count backwards from 10.
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Ordinal Numbers Poster - 1st to 10th
1st to 10th ordinal numbers on one page.
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Ordinal Numbers Poster
A poster for ordinal numbers 1st - 50th, plus 60th, 70th, 80th, 90th and 100th.
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Emoji - Numbers 1 to 100 Chart
An emoji themed hundreds board.
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Counting to Twenty Poster - BW - No Capitals
A poster showing numbers and words from one to twenty.
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Counting to Twenty Poster - Colour - No Capitals
A poster showing numbers and words from one to twenty.
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0-20 Number and Word Posters - BW
Posters showing numbers and words from 0-20.
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Counting to Twenty Poster - Colour
A poster showing numbers and words from one to twenty.
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Writing Numbers 0-10
A chart to assist students when learning how to form numbers.
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Ordinal Numbers Worksheet
A worksheet to help students consolidate their understanding of ordinal numbers.
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1-10 Counting Worksheet
A simple worksheet to help students with their counting skills.
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Ordinals Worksheet Pack
Support early maths instruction with this ordinals worksheet pack, designed to help students confidently identify, read and use ordinal numbers.
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Many Candles Counting Birthday Cake Activity
‘Gift’ this many candles counting birthday cake activity to your students for hands-on counting and number representation practice.
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Number Recognition Craft Activity Pack
Reinforce number recognition with this engaging craft activity pack for numbers 1 - 10.
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Make a Pizza Counting Game
Use this pizza-themed counting game to get your students matching numerals with their corresponding quantities.