The number line

The number line is one of the more powerful tools in teaching arithmetic. It conisists of a line with little graduations on it, starting with the smallest number of interest and counting up to the largest number of interest. Until the child has learnt about negative numbers, the line will usually start at 0, but thereafter it will start at whatever negative number is appropriate. The power of the number line is that it gives the child something solid to use when imagining the relationship of numbers one to another. The number line is very useful because it allow the childs to count up and down it, and to compare numbers on one number line with those on another. It provides the framework on which they can hang their entire concept of the number system. The importance of integrating these ideas in children's imaginations is often overlooked in schools where the emphasis is on teaching the mechanics of manipulating numbers in order to get the right answer. At Puppet Maths we are concerned with capturing the child's imagination as well as giving them the skills to get the right answers.