Open number lines are a great tool to get students to move past manipulatives to representing their thinking on paper. Using this strategy will increase students’ confidence in their ability to use numbers flexibly which will lead to stronger number sense. Using them will also help students who are not ready for the algorithm yet, but will shrink the gap because of the number sense it builds. Open number lines can be used by students to represent their thinking with many different concepts, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and elapsed time. Open number lines are less time consuming than waiting for students to record all the numbers on a 0-100 ranged number line. It is also useful that the space between lines do not need to be precise on an open number line. It’s truly about using a tool to help you understand and think through a problem

This slide deck includes 16 student-facing slides that can be used during math centers or as a part of a math lesson. An instructional video for teachers from an elementary math instructional coach is also included for teachers to review before they use this strategy with their students.