What are number line jumps?

Each problem, like 7 + 4, comes with a number line. Children start at the green dot, draw one jump for each one they add or take away, and write where they land.

Which ranges are there?

0 to 10, up to 20, and tens up to 100.

Are answer keys included?

Yes. The key draws the jumps and the answer.

Number Line Worksheets: Missing Numbers and Addition Jumps to 20 and 100

Seeing addition and subtraction

A number line shows adding as moving forward and taking away as moving back. It is the bridge from counting objects to mental maths.

In the New Zealand Curriculum

First 6 monthsOrdering numbers to 20, with words such as before, after, between and number line.
Year 1Adding and subtracting by joining and separating groups to 20, and finding differences by counting.
Year 2Placing numbers up to 120 at about the right spot on a number line.

Jumps of one match the counting-on and counting-back strategies of Years 1 and 2. Ask children whether they could get there in fewer jumps, for example jumping to 10 first, to lead them towards basic facts instead of counting.

Later the curriculum uses the number line for fractions in Year 3 and negative numbers in Year 5. This maker covers whole numbers to 100, so draw an empty line on the board for those.

Summarised in our own words from the New Zealand Curriculum: Mathematics and Statistics, Years 0–8 (in effect from 2025), and the Ministry of Education’s year-by-year guide for parents and whānau.