Variations
What prints with the starting settings
| Paper | US Letter — 215.9 × 279.4 mm (8.5 × 11 in) |
|---|---|
| Range | 0 to 3 in steps of 1 |
| Lines per page | 8 |
| Margins | 1/2″ |
| Line weight | 0.18 mm (bold 0.35 mm) |
| Print setting | Scale 100% / Actual size |
Fractions as numbers
Children first meet fractions as slices of a pizza or a shaded part of a shape. A number line shows a second, important idea: a fraction is a number with a place between the whole numbers. 3/4 sits just before 1, 5/4 sits just after it, and 2/4 lands on exactly the same tick as 1/2. Seeing that on a line makes equivalent fractions and improper fractions much less mysterious.
Activities
- Label the ticks: write each quarter as a fraction, then rewrite the ones past 1 as mixed numbers.
- Compare: mark 2/3 and 3/4 on lines printed one above the other with thirds and quarters to see which is larger.
- Equivalents: print halves, quarters and eighths lines and line them up to find the matches.
- Decimals: use the tenths variation to place 0.3, 0.7 and 0.25.
Changing the range
The 0 to 3 range suits improper fractions and mixed numbers. For a single unit split finely, set the range to 0 to 1. For whole-number work, see the 0 to 100 number line.
Printing
Print at 100% / Actual size. Stacking several lines with different divisions on one page makes comparison easy.
More number lines sheets
Frequently asked questions
How are the fractions marked?
Whole numbers are labelled and the fractions are shown as smaller unlabelled ticks between them. Three ticks split each whole into quarters; one tick makes halves, two make thirds, and nine make tenths.
Why are the fraction ticks not labelled?
So children do the labelling. Writing 1/4, 2/4, 3/4 and then 5/4 or 1 1/4 is the learning step that the worksheet is for.
Can I show sixths or eighths?
Yes. In the generator, set the minor ticks to 5 for sixths or 7 for eighths. Any value from 0 to 9 is allowed.
How long is each whole?
From 0 to 3 on Letter, each whole is about 57 mm long, so a quarter is a little over 14 mm, easy to mark with a pencil.
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