Number Line

The number line is a valuable teaching tool for 1st Grade students as they begin learning addition.  The concept may be introduced in kindergarten, but it's built upon and reinforced in first grade. 

Remember, just move at your child's pace regardless of what grade he or she is in.

The line is used like this. 

When a child is given a problem such as 4 + 5, he makes a mark at the 4 on the line.  He then counts five numbers, or "jumps" on the line. 

It's important that the student doesn't count the first number (4 in this example).  Just count the "jumps" and the student will get the correct answer.

Using the equation above you'd get this:

As mentioned above, if the student counts the first number (4) as a "jump" then he would get the wrong answer (8) in this case. 

This was a problem with our son when he first learned how to use the line. 

We taught him to put one finger on the beginning number (four in the example above) and then use another finger to move away from the number, counting the times the second finger moves.

Eventually, he caught on and now he doesn't need to use one.

Number Line Worksheets

The addition worksheets below present the line in various ways.

The first image is a simple line that you can print out for your child or students to use alongside the worksheets or with homework.

The first worksheet present the line as a set of monkeybars with each rung being a different number.  Look at the problem, solve using the line, then write the answer in the box.  Each problem becomes a bit more difficult.

For example, this first problem is a straight-forward problem '1+3=?', but the following problem requires the student to work backwards and figure what to add to 6 to equal ten.  The last one is missing two numbers and will require the student to make up the problem showing that they understand how the line works.

The next worksheet uses an arrow for the line and follows the same basic concept as the previous paper with missing numbers in various places.

The last three papers are all straight-forward problems for your child to solve with each paper having a slightly different spin on the line such as a staircase or fireman's ladder.

Click on the images to download the worksheets and then print them out.  You may have to print the first three worksheets in landscape mode since I created them in that format.

I've created numerous worksheets covering numbers, addition, and all kinds of math topics.  Be sure to check out the pages below for more great lessons and printables.