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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Search and Find Bowerbird Worksheets
Explore images to find and count objects for a bowerbirds nest and bowerbirds themselves.
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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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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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Counting Collections to 20 Worksheet
A place value worksheet for students to use when counting small collections.
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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 for kindergarten!
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Rounding Numbers – Teaching Slides
Teach the basics of rounding numbers with this engaging animated PowerPoint.
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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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Colour By Number - Numbers 10-20
An engaging activity to consolidate your students’ recognition of two-digit numbers.
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Jellyfish Count to 10 Match-Up Craft
Use this fun teaching resource to help consolidate your students’ knowledge of subitising to 10.
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Ten Frames - Printable
Use this ten frame printable in various daily maths lessons.
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Part-Part-Whole - Addition and Subtraction Teaching Presentation
Teach your students how to effectively use a bar model to solve 1-digit addition and subtraction number facts using the part-part-whole strategy.
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Numbers 1-10 Bug Matching Game
Help students learn to represent numbers 1-10 in picture, word and number form.
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Addition Strategies: Make a Ten Worksheet
A 2-page worksheet that uses ten frames to model the “making ten” addition strategy.
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Subitise and Colour
Practise subitising to five with this colour-by-number worksheet.
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Number and Place Value Worksheets - Foundation
10 number and place value worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Subitising Small Collections PowerPoint
A 12 page editable PowerPoint presentation to use as part of a numeracy lesson when teaching subitising to younger students.
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Number Talk Task Cards - Ten Frames
Build number sense skills with this set of 30 ten and double ten frame maths talk task cards.
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Subitising 1 to 12 - Snap and Memory Game
A set of subitising cards for students to play a game of snap or memory when learning to subitise numbers.
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How Many Eyes? - Alien Counting Worksheet
An alien themed place value worksheet for students to use when counting small collections.
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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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Roll, Count, and Cover - Dot Day Activities
Build fine motor skills and counting skills with a set of printable Roll, Count, and Colour Dot Day Activities.
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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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Counting Crocodiles - Numbers 1 to 10 Worksheet
A crocodile themed place value worksheet to use when identifying and counting numbers from 1 to 10.
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Number Posters
Display this set of 1-20 number posters in the classroom to encourage a knowledge and understanding of each number.
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Snakes and Ladders Hundreds Chart Game
Complete each hundreds chart by putting the missing numbered clusters into place to play a game of Snakes and Ladders.
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Hundreds Board Mystery Picture Task Cards
A set of 32 activity task cards that require students to colour in a hundreds chart to reveal a mystery picture.
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Zero to Thirty Posters
A set of posters showing numbers 0 - 30.
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Colour Counting Worksheet
A worksheet to consolidate the concept of numbers and associated values.
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Ice Cream Counting Game
Help students practise their knowledge of counting numbers 1-20 with this fun ice cream matching game.
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Number Talks - Number Sense Task Cards
Build number sense skills with this set of 24 task cards.
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Subitising Numbers to 10 Worksheet
A place value worksheet for students to use when subitising numbers to 10.
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Pirate's Plunder - Number Line Subtraction Game
Practise using the jump strategy for subtraction from 20 with an exciting pirate-themed maths game.
- Number Sense Worksheets
- Number Sense Games
- Number Sense Posters
- Number Sense for Preschool/Kindergarten
- Number Sense for Foundation Year
- Number Sense for Year 1
- Number Sense for Year 2
- Number Sense for Year 3
- Number Sense for Year 4
- Number Sense for Year 5
- Number Sense for Year 6
- Number Sense for Year 7