Sidewalk Chalk Number Line

A number line is a basic way to represent where numbers go and describe the order of numbers.  It is a great way to help develop number sense and can be used to demonstrate concepts such as negative numbers, addition, subtraction, fractions, decimals, and more.  A basic number line can be drawn by making a straight line then drawing hash marks at evenly spaced intervals along the line.  Often, zero is in the middle and negative numbers count from zero to the left while positive numbers count from zero to the right.  This does not always need to be the case depending on the type of numbers you are going to use and what you are trying to show.

To help a child understand the number line use sidewalk chalk and draw a number line.  Have the child pick a number and stand on it then give them instructions and have them move along the number line based on that instruction.  You can say things like "add 3" or "take away 7".  Help your child move appropriately on the number line so they can see that if they were standing on 4 and they subtracted 7 they would then be standing on -3.

Some variations to this to make it more challenging would be to use fractions or decimals and have the number line range from -1 to 1.  Either you or your child can fill in the number line and put the fractions or decimals where they belong.  This might be trickier for you to give them instruction and have them land on a hash line but you can have the estimate their location or you can work out equations first so you know it works every time.

You can also ask your student to add negative numbers or subtract negative numbers.  This can be challenging at times but it really helps if you have your student face the way the sign is telling them to go and they move forward if they add or backwards if they subtract.  For example, if a student is standing on 1 and they are asked to take away -3, they would face the negative direction and step backwards so their overall movement would be in a positive direction.