Number Line Printable
A clean 0-20 number line, one per letter page, big enough for a finger to land on each tick. Print it for counting practice, then use the hop method below — the number line is where addition and subtraction become movements before they become symbols.
Number Line 0-20
Numbers you can walk on
A number line turns quantity into position, and position is something a five-year-old already understands. More is to the right. Counting is stepping. The line below runs 0-20 with a tick and a numeral for each whole number, in print large enough that a fingertip can sit on one tick without covering its neighbor — that tactile bit matters, because the entire method is "put your finger on the first number and hop."
The hop method is how the line teaches addition: to solve 4 + 3, put a finger on 4, then hop three ticks to the right, saying each landing number aloud — 5, 6, 7. Subtraction reverses the walk. Two things are silently happening: the child is practicing the count-on strategy (start at 4, not at 1) and learning that adding is motion in a direction. Both transfer directly to the hundred chart and the ruler.
Teaching tips
Hop out loud, land by landing
Saying each landing number ("5, 6, 7") is what makes it counting-on instead of finger-flailing. Silent hopping quietly becomes guessing.
Start at the bigger number
For 2 + 7, start at 7 and hop twice. The line makes the commutative property visible — both walks end at 9 — and starting big is the habit that scales to 98 + 4 later.
Cover the numerals for estimation
Fold a strip of paper over the numbers and ask "where would 14 be?" Pointing first, checking after: that is number sense, rehearsed.
Laminate for skip counting
On a laminated line, hop by 2s and 5s with a dry-erase marker — dot, arc, dot, arc. The arcs are literally the jumps that addition notation will draw next year.
Frequently asked questions
How do you use a number line for addition?
The hop method: find the first number, hop one tick per count of the second number (landing numbers said aloud), and read where the finger stops. Subtraction is the same walk in reverse — the operation becomes a direction before it becomes a symbol.
What number line do kindergartners use?
Usually 0-10 at the start of the year and 0-20 by the end — one tick per whole number, numerals under the ticks. This page prints the 0-20 version; folding it in half gives a clean 0-10 line for beginners.
Should the number line start at 0 or 1?
Start at 0. Zero anchors the line — it is the "start here" for hopping and the reason every number's position has meaning. Counting objects starts at 1, but positions on a line start at 0.
How is a number line different from a hundred chart?
The line shows numbers as positions along a length — great for magnitude, order and addition-as-motion. The hundred chart folds 1-100 into rows so tens stack in columns — great for place value patterns. K-1 leans on the line; grades 1-2 lean on the chart; both transfer to each other.