Prime and Composite Numbers Teaching Resources

Explore prime and composite number worksheets, charts and more resources created for math teachers, by math teachers!

This collection of resources is aligned with both TEKS and the Common Core math curriculum, and it's stocked with everything you need to flesh out your lesson plans and help your students understand the unique properties of each category of whole numbers.

Best of all? Each worksheet, task card set and activity has gone through a careful review by a math teacher on the Teach Starter team to ensure it's ready for your classroom and your students!

Want to learn more about this section of the math curriculum, or just looking for fresh ideas to engage your students? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including definitions of prime and composite and lists of each type of number.

What Are Prime and Composite Numbers? Kid-Friendly Definitions

Let's kick things off with a quick definition that you can use to introduce these concepts to your students!

Prime numbers and composite numbers are both types of whole numbers. Both odd and even numbers fall in each category. What sets them apart from one another is how they are affected by division.

• Prime number — A prime number is a whole number that can only be divided by itself and the number 1 because it has no other factors.
• Composite number — A composite number is a whole number that can be divided by numbers other than itself and 1 because it has more than two factors.

What Are the Prime and Composite Numbers From 1 to 100?

Need a handy list of the prime numbers up to 100 to use when you're helping students grasp the patterns and relationships between prime and composite numbers? We've got you covered with lists of each type!

Prime Number List

The following numbers are all prime as they have only 2 factors:

• 2
• 3
• 5
• 7
• 11
• 13
• 17
• 19
• 23
• 29
• 31
• 37
• 41
• 43
• 47
• 53
• 59
• 61
• 67
• 71
• 73
• 79
• 83
• 89
• 97

Composite Number List

Once you have a prime number list, the composite number list is fairly simple — it represents all the whole numbers that are not prime! Here are the numbers between 1 and 100 that are composite:

• 4
• 6
• 8
• 9
• 10
• 12
• 14
• 15
• 16
• 18
• 20
• 21
• 22
• 24
• 25
• 26
• 27
• 28
• 30
• 32
• 33
• 34
• 35
• 36
• 38
• 39
• 40
• 42
• 44
• 45
• 46
• 48
• 49
• 50
• 51
• 52
• 54
• 55
• 56
• 57
• 58
• 60
• 62
• 63
• 64
• 65
• 66
• 68
• 69
• 70
• 72
• 74
• 75
• 76
• 77
• 78
• 80
• 81
• 82
• 84
• 85
• 86
• 87
• 88
• 90
• 91
• 92
• 93
• 94
• 95
• 96
• 98
• 99
• 100

Is 1 a Prime Number or a Composite Number?

Your students may notice that the number 1 does not show up on either the prime number list or the composite number list.

It's helpful to let kids know early on in your unit that 1 is a special number that doesn't fit either definition! It is only divisible by itself ... 1!