Number Line
Jump along to add and subtract
About this tool
A number line turns numbers into a journey: a straight path where every step has its place and bigger numbers live further along. This free interactive number line lets children count forward and back, take jumps, and see how numbers are spaced in order.
Seeing addition as jumps to the right and subtraction as jumps to the left gives children a mental model they can carry for years. It connects the act of counting to the size and order of numbers in a way that loose counters cannot.
It runs right in the browser on tablets, phones, and classroom computers, with nothing to install and no account to create. There is no timer and no score — just a calm space to explore how numbers move.
How to use it in class
- Show the number line on a whiteboard and count along it together, pointing to each number as you say it.
- Model addition by starting on a number and jumping forward, and subtraction by jumping back.
- Practise skip-counting by twos, fives, and tens by taking equal jumps along the line.
- Ask children to predict where a jump will land before they take it.
Classroom ideas
- Give a start number and a number of jumps, and ask children where they will land.
- Show a finished jump and ask children to describe the addition or subtraction it shows.
- Use the line to compare two numbers — which is further along, and how far apart are they?
- Let children invent their own jump story and act it out on the line.