Fractions on a Number Line Worksheets

Four printable sheets that move from reading a fraction on a number line, to marking one, to working past 1, to comparing two fractions by where they sit. Every number line is already drawn and split into equal parts, and each sheet has its own answer key.

Download the worksheets and answer keys (PDF, 8 pages)

How to read a fraction on a number line

The space from 0 to 1 is one whole. When it is cut into equal parts, the denominator tells you how many parts make that whole, and the numerator tells you how many of those parts you count from 0.

On a line from 0 to 1 cut into 8 equal parts, each jump is 1/8. A point after 5 jumps is 5/8. On a line that continues to 2, the counting does not stop at 1: with fourths, 1 is 4/4, the next mark is 5/4, and 2 is 8/4.

What is on each sheet

• Sheet A — Read the fraction (0 to 1). A dot sits on each line; the child writes the fraction. Halves first, then fourths, then eighths.
• Sheet B — Mark the fraction (0 to 1). The fraction is given; the child draws the dot. Fourths, then eighths.
• Sheet C — Fractions from 0 to 2. Three lines to read and three to mark, using halves and fourths, including the points that land exactly on 1 and 2.
• Sheet D — Compare by position. The child marks two fractions on the same line and writes >, < or =. Some pairs share a denominator; others, such as 1/2 and 3/8, need the half located on a line cut into eighths.

The sheets build on each other and are meant to be used in order: Sheet D draws on A and B, and its item 5 uses the 0-to-2 line from Sheet C.

Checking answers

The answer key shows the correct point on every line, not only the number. When a fraction the child writes has an equal, simpler name, the key lists both: for a point at 2/4, 1/2 is also correct; for the point at 4/4 on Sheet C, 1 is also correct.

Counting the tick at 0 as the first part turns 3/8 into 4/8. To check an answer, count the spaces from 0, not the tick marks.

Looking for fractions practice beyond the number line? The fractions worksheets hub has sets organized by grade.