Charts and number linesAll grades
Printable number lines
A blank-page number line maker. Set where the line starts, what it counts by (whole numbers, tenths, halves, quarters, eighths or thirds), how many ticks it has, and which ticks are labeled. Up to 10 lines per page.
- Fresh problems every time
- Print or PDF, Letter or A4
- Free, no sign-up
On this page
A tool, not a quiz
This page prints number lines for a child to write on. It is a sheet of tools: there are no problems and no answer key, and no name line at the top. A teacher or parent supplies the questions out loud or on a whiteboard, and the child uses the line to work them out. It suits kindergarten counting up to middle-school work with negative numbers and fractions.
A few jobs it handles well: counting on and back, skip counting, showing addition and subtraction as jumps, ordering a set of decimals, or marking fractions on a line. When you would rather have printed questions to answer, the number line worksheet generates those instead.
The settings, one by one
- Start at. Any whole number from −100 to 1000. A negative start gives a line that passes through zero, and the title of the sheet adds "With Negative Numbers."
- Count by. Whole-number steps of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25 or 100, or tenths, halves, quarters, eighths and thirds. Fractions print as fractions, and once a value passes 1 it appears as a mixed number such as 1 3/4.
- Ticks on each line. From 4 to 30. The line runs from the start for this many steps. Over 20 ticks, the labels shrink slightly to fit, so use fewer ticks for young children who need big print.
- Labels. "Every tick" labels all of them. "Whole numbers only" labels just the whole-number ticks, which is useful on a fraction line. "Ends only" labels the first and last tick, leaving students to work out the ones between. "Blank" prints no numbers at all and lets students label the line themselves.
- Number lines per page. One to ten. Five is the default; one gives a long single line to use with counters.
- Each line continues the last. Off, every line starts at the same number. On, each begins where the one above ended, so five lines of 20 ticks together make a single 100-step journey. That is a handy way to see a count by 5 reach 500.
Worked example: counting by quarters from 0
Suppose a third grader is learning that 4/4 equals 1.
- Set Count by to 1/4 (quarters) and Start at to 0.
- Set Ticks on each line to 12, which is three whole units.
- Choose Labels: Whole numbers only. The ticks at 0, 1, 2 and 3 are labeled and the in-between quarters are left empty. The whole-number ticks are drawn a little longer.
- Print and ask: "Mark 3/4. Now mark 1 1/2. Which is farther, 5/4 or 1 1/4?"
The last question has a quiet trick: both are the same point. Students who place them in the same spot have understood that an improper fraction and a mixed number name one number.
Ideas for using blank lines
Choose Labels: Blank and ask for a count by 25 starting at 100. The student fills in 100, 125, 150 and so on, which is a quick check on skip counting. With Ends only, ask for the missing midpoint first, then the quarter points, so the student works by halving.
For adding and subtracting, draw arcs above the line. 7 + 5 becomes a jump of 7, then 5 more. For negative numbers, start at −10 with step 2 and let the student find where the line crosses zero.
Choosing paper and printing
Pick US Letter or A4 under the paper size menu. For laminated reuse, print one line per page, and let students write with a dry-erase marker. Related practice: skip counting worksheets and integers worksheets pair well with this page.