Blank Number Line Printable: Free Number Line Templates

A blank number line is a number line without numbers. You’ll see evenly spaced tick marks, or just the two ends, so your child writes in the numbers the problem needs. One sheet works for counting to 5, to 10, to 20, or by tens later on.

You’ll find 7 pages of number line templates in our blank number line PDF, a free printable number line set: lines with 10 spaces, lines with 20 spaces, lines with boxes for the numbers, big 5-space lines for kindergarten, lines with just the two ends, and one big line. You don’t need to sign up or leave an email.

Need the numbers already printed? The number line to 20 has a 0-20 line, a 0-10 line, hop pages and a desk strip.

Jump to: the free PDF · what it is · which template · numbers printed · how to label one · ends only · ways to use them · make your own

Free blank number line printable PDF

All 7 pages are landscape, US Letter, and print fine in black and white. Here’s what’s on each one:

1. 10 spaces (page 1). Four lines with 11 tick marks (10 intervals) and a taller mark in the middle.
2. 20 spaces (page 2). Four lines with 21 tick marks, taller every 5.
3. Number line with boxes, 10 spaces (page 3). A box under every mark to write in.
4. Number line with boxes, 20 spaces (page 4). Boxes take turns above and below the line, so each one fits a two-digit number.
5. 5 spaces (page 5). Big spaces for kindergarten: two plain lines and two with boxes.
6. Ends only (page 6). Four lines with a mark at each end and nothing in between, and room above each line to draw hops.
7. One big line (page 7). A single thick line for the fridge, or under a dry-erase sheet.

Page 1: blank lines with 10 spaces.

Print tips:

• Print landscape. The lines and marks are dark ink and the write boxes are a light outline, so any home printer works, color or black and white.
• Make it dry-erase. Slide any page into a sheet protector and you have a reusable dry-erase number line. Wipe it and use it again tomorrow.
• Number line paper for a class. Copy page 2: four 20-space lines on every sheet.

We kept the spaces big on purpose. Small hands write big numbers, and a two-digit number needs room. That’s why the 20-space boxes take turns above and below the line.

What is a blank number line?

A blank number line is a number line with the marks but not the numbers. The marks sit evenly, and you decide what each one stands for. On one sheet the first mark is 0 and the last is 10. On the next sheet, those same 11 marks can run from 10 to 20.

A number line can show just a piece of the line. If yours starts at 7, 0 is still there, off to the left. That idea matters more than it sounds. Every number on a number line is a distance from 0, so a line that starts at 7 is a close-up of a longer line, not a different kind of line.

A line with no marks in the middle at all is sometimes called an empty number line. Page 6 has those, with a mark at each end and nothing else.

It isn’t the number line with open and closed circles that older kids use for inequalities. That comes years later.

Number line templates: which one to use

Pick the number line template by how many spaces you need. Every blank number line with tick marks in this set has equal spaces, so every space counts as one.

Template	Tick marks	Good for
5 spaces	6	Counting 0 to 5, first hops in kindergarten
10 spaces	11	0 to 10, or 10 to 20, or tens in 2nd grade
20 spaces	21	0 to 20, counting on and back in 1st grade
With boxes	11 or 21	Writing the numbers in
Ends only	2	2nd grade, marking only the numbers you need
One big line	11	The fridge or a whiteboard

Kindergarten. A number path is where many kindergartners start. Each number sits in its own box, and each box counts one thing. Our addition for kindergarten and subtraction for kindergarten PDFs both have a 0-10 path page. When your child is ready for a line, use page 5 (5 spaces) or page 1 (10 spaces). You write the numbers in while your child watches and says them.

1st grade. The 20-space lines on pages 2 and 4 are for counting on and counting back within 20. Put a finger on the first number and count the hops, not the marks. Our number line to 20 explains that step by step.

2nd grade. This is where number lines show up in the Common Core standards by name. 2nd graders learn to show numbers as distances from 0 on a number line, and to show adding and subtracting within 100 as hops along it (2.MD.6). The writers of the standards explain the wait: following National Research Council advice, number lines come after children have measured with rulers (Common Core Standards Writing Team, 2022). Not every state agrees. Florida’s standards put 0 to 20 on a number line in kindergarten (MA.K.NSO.2.3). If your child’s class uses one earlier, that’s normal too.

Want the numbers printed?

Some days you want the numbers printed. A blank number line is for writing in. A numbered one is for reading and checking. Our printable number lines with the numbers on them live in the number line to 20 post:

• A 0-20 number line with taller marks at 5, 10, 15 and 20, plus hop pages.
• A 0-10 number line with extra-wide spaces for younger kids.
• A blank number line to 20 with only 0 and 20 printed, to fill in and check against the 0-20 line.
• A desk strip to tape to the table, and Race to 20, a board game on a straight row of numbers.

For counting past 20, our number line to 100 has 0-100 and 1-100 lines and strips that tape into a line about 1 meter long. A hundreds chart puts 1 to 100 in rows of ten.

Here’s a good routine. Your child fills in a blank line, then checks it against the numbered one.

How to label a blank number line

Labeling the line is half the lesson. Do it with your child like this:

1. Write 0 under the first mark. A full number line starts at 0, because every number is how far it is from 0.
2. Every space is the same size, so every space counts as one. Say the numbers as you write them: 1, 2, 3. Your child’s finger moves one space for each number.
3. Write the last number, then check the middle. On a 10-space line the last mark is 10, and the taller middle mark is 5. If the middle mark doesn’t say 5, a number got skipped or written twice.

The same 10-space line can be 0 to 10, 10 to 20, or count by tens in 2nd grade. Only the labels change. Page 3 has a box under every mark, so your child has a place to write each number neatly. Page 4 does the same for 20 spaces, with the boxes taking turns above and below the line. Teachers can use either page as a blank number line worksheet. Label a few marks yourself and leave the rest.

Page 3: a box under every mark.

Blank lines with ends only

Page 6 has lines with a mark at each end and nothing in between. Some teachers call these open or empty number lines, so if you came looking for an open number line printable, this is the page. 2nd graders mark only the numbers they need, then add in chunks. Our open number line guide shows how, with worked examples. The hops don’t have to be exactly to scale, but keep bigger hops bigger. A hop of 10 should look longer than a hop of 1, and the numbers must stay in order.

Keep these lines for later. A child who still counts by ones needs every mark, so stay with pages 1 to 5 until your child can add 10 to a number without counting each one.

The Progressions make a nice point here. Rulers, yardsticks and measuring tapes are number lines too. If your 2nd grader has measured with a ruler, they’ve already used one. Lay a ruler next to a line on page 6, write 0 in the left box, and talk about how the ruler starts at 0 too.

There’s a box under each end of every line. Write the start number in the left box and the end number in the right box, then add only the marks you need in between.

Page 6: Blank line, ends only.

Ways to use a blank number line

Five quick ones, each 5 minutes or less:

1. Write it yourselves. Label a 10-space line 0 to 10 together. Next time, try 10 to 20 on the same kind of line.
2. Hide a number. You write most of the numbers and leave a few marks empty. Your child fills in the rest by counting from the nearest number they know. For counting to 20 in rows instead of a line, use the number chart 1-20.
3. Which is bigger? On a labeled line, point to two numbers and ask which is bigger. The one further right is always bigger.
4. Count the hops. Once the line is labeled, use it to add small numbers. The number line to 20 post shows how, and the mistake to watch for.
5. A piece of the line. Label the first mark 7 and count up to 17. Counting forward from a number other than 1 is a kindergarten skill of its own (K.CC.2). Remind your child that 0 is still there, off to the left. When 20 feels easy, the hundreds chart takes counting the rest of the way to 100.

How to make your own number line

You can make one at home with a ruler and a long strip of paper. Draw a straight line, then make a mark every 2 cm or every inch. The marks must be the same distance apart, or the line stops working. A wide space would count the same as a narrow one.

For a big version, make a floor number line with painter’s tape. Use one strip for the line and a short strip for each mark, a step apart. Your child hops from mark to mark and says each number. There’s more on that in the number line to 20 activities.

For the fridge, use page 7, one big line with a thick stroke and a box under every mark.

FAQ

How many tick marks should a blank number line have?

One more than the spaces. A line with 10 spaces has 11 tick marks, and a line with 20 spaces has 21. For kindergarten, start with 6 marks (5 spaces) or 11 marks (10 spaces).

Should a blank number line start at 0?

A full number line does. 0 goes at the first mark. A line can also show just a piece, like 7 to 17. 0 is still there, off to the left.

What’s the difference between a line with tick marks and one without?

On a line with tick marks, every space counts as one, so your child can count the hops. A line with only the two ends is for marking just the numbers you need. That’s a 2nd grade skill.

What grade uses blank number lines?

Kindergarten to 2nd grade, with a different template for each. 5 and 10 spaces for kindergarten, 20 spaces for 1st grade, and ends only for 2nd grade, when the Common Core standards bring in number line diagrams (2.MD.6).

Can I make the number lines editable?

No, the PDF is made to print and write on. For a reusable page, slide it into a sheet protector and use a dry-erase marker.

The takeaways

• A blank number line has the marks, not the numbers. You choose what they stand for.
• Pick the template by spaces: 5 for kindergarten, 10 and 20 for counting to 20, ends only for 2nd grade.
• Write 0 at the first mark, and keep every space worth the same.
• A sheet protector makes any page reusable.
• For lines with the numbers printed, use the number line to 20.
• Print the free blank number line PDF: 7 pages of number line templates.