How the Number Line Works

Many teachers find our number lines to be wonderful tools. One of the main advantages of our number lines is that it is entirely clear what should be counted – the single blocks.

The 0-30 number line is for younger students. The single blocks lie flat on the number line. This makes the blocks easier to handle and easier to count.

Five blocks are loaded on the number line.

Now 23 blocks are loaded on the number line.

There is also a 0-50 number line.

Here we see 42 blocks loaded onto the 0-50 number line. The blocks lie on their side to take up less room than the 0-30 number line.

The 0-50 number line can be combined with the 51-100 number line to create a 1-100 number line.

Note that with drawn number lines like this one, you are supposed to count the steps. Here we see that there are 3 steps between 0 and 3. But often times children try to count the hash marks. This becomes confusing. Do they count three hash marks or 4? With the Digi-Block number lines, it is entirely clear that there are 3 blocks.