Number Line to 20: Only 0, 10 and 20 Are Printed

Only three numbers are printed on the lines of this 1st grade number line page: 0, 10 and 20. Ticks mark every whole number between them, four lines fill the page, and three orange arrows stand on each one with an empty dashed box above. Because the landmarks are ten apart rather than five, the count from the nearest label can run much further - an arrow near the middle of a stretch may be four or five ticks from anything printed.

Taking the fives away is a small edit that changes the reasoning. With a label every five, no tick is more than a couple of steps from help; with labels only at 0, 10 and 20, the child has to decide whether to count forward from 10 or backward from 20, and choosing the shorter route is the beginning of estimating. Twelve arrows across four lines is enough repetition for that choice to become a habit rather than a one-off.

Print the PDF free and ask for the landmark to be written beside the first box on each line, so the route is visible. If the longer runs cause miscounts, the 0 to 10 version keeps three labels on a much shorter line with two arrows each. The to 30 version restores a label every five but widens the range into the twenties. Number of the day and number walls are where these located numbers get added together.