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How to Use Interactive Notebooks to Teach Number Sense

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Interactive math notebooks are one way we teach number sense in our upper elementary classroom. Math class hasn't been the same since we started using interactive notebooks. Yes, they are work, but the benefits are HUGE! Come see what we do to make it work and get some ideas for yourself.

We use interactive notebooks in our math class as part of a unit on number sense. We have found creating a reference book of concepts and procedures that students can refer to when working in math helps them build confidence and develop independence.

We’re not going to lie. They are a lot of work, but the working is meaningful. We found on average our math grades improved and students were able to retain more of their learning year over year. Read more to find out how we use them in our classroom as one way to develop number sense.

Why Notebooks?

Interactive math notebooks are one way we teach number sense in our upper elementary classroom. Math class hasn't been the same since we started using interactive notebooks. Yes, they are work, but the benefits are amazing! Come see what we do to help our students develop number sense so that math class is a breeze.

Our notebooks are created using two pages for each concept. We have found that the process of creating the page for each concept deepens understanding and shows students how to do the steps by having concrete examples they can refer back to.

We’re not going to lie. Interactive math notebooks are a lot of work, but we found that overall our students understanding of math improved greatly. You can read more about some of the challenges and how to overcome them in this post: How to Change Math With Interactive Notebooks.

How the Notebook is Set Up

We start each year with representing numbers and number sense because it tends to be a unit that most students can do successfully. Representing numbers looks at the different ways we use numbers: symbols (the numbers), words (how we say them) and pictures (like Base 10 blocks).

The second part of the unit looks at comparing and ordering numbers to each other. In the higher grades, students begin rounding and working with greater numbers.

Interactive math notebooks are one way we teach number sense in our upper elementary classroom. Math class hasn't been the same since we started using interactive notebooks. While math notebooks are a lot of work, there are a lot of rewards. It changed everything we did in math class. Come get some ideas for your math class.

In upper elementary, we are usually past subitizing (being able to look and immediately determine a number) or using small enough numbers that ten frames and tally marks are useful tools. For that reason, we’ve left out those options in our classroom unless we specifically need them for a student.

First, we do the lesson page (on the right side). This page can take one whole math class (sometimes more depending on the concept).

On the right side, we share the lesson including important vocabulary, examples and hints or tricks for the procedures. We provide the templates for students and go through setting up the page piece by piece with students during the lesson. This lesson usually happens near the beginning of the week.

On the left page, students prove they understand the concept by verbalizing what they have learned, diagramming a procedure and then making a personal connection to what they have learned. This page is done more independently to prove a student understands a concept. Before students complete these page, they get a chance to practice the concept in class during the week.

Need Templates?

If you are looking for the templates and step-by-step instructions to set up the notebook with your students, you can find them here.

Representing Numbers Interactive Math Unit for Grade 3: This unit includes number sense of whole numbers and simple fractions. You can find the Number and Fractions Interactive Math Unit for Grade 3 on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN).

Number Concepts Interactive Math Unit for Grade 4: This unit has everything you need to teach, practice, and assess place value, Base 10, rounding, and ordering numbers up to the ten millions place. You can find the Number Concepts Interactive Math Unit for Grade 4 on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN).

Whole Numbers Interactive Math Unit For Grades 4/5: This unit combines the number sense outcomes for grades four and five so that you can differentiate for your students or teach math as a whole group in a combined classroom. You can teach standard form. expanded form and words. You can find the Whole Number Concepts Interactive Math Unit for Grade 4/5 on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN).

Whole Number Interactive Math Unit for Grade 5: This unit has everything you need to explicitly teach whole number concepts for place value, comparing numbers, and rounding. You can find the Whole Number Interactive Math Unit for Grade 5 on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN).

Number and Integer Interactive Math Unit for Grades 5/6: This unit combines the number sense outcomes for grades five and six so that you can differentiate for your students or teach math as a whole group in a combined classroom. Integers are included in this set. You can find the Whole Number Interactive Math Unit for Grade 5 on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN).

Number and Integer Concepts Interactive Math Unit for Grade 6: This unit has everything you need to teach, practice, and assess place value, Base 10, rounding, and integers that are greater than one million. You can find the Number and Integer Concepts Interactive Math Unit for Grade 6 on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN).

You can also find these units in complete bundles for each grade:

Grade 3 Interactive Math Unit Year Long Bundle: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN).
Grade 4 Interactive Math Unit Year Long Bundle: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN).
Grade 4/5 Interactive Math Unit Year Long Bundle: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN).
Grade 5 Interactive Math Unit Year Long Bundle: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN).
Grade 5/6 Interactive Math Unit Year Long Bundle: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN).
Grade 6 Interactive Math Unit Year Long Bundle: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN).

What activities do we do to practice number sense?

The goal of the practice is to get students comfortable with representing numbers in different ways: standard form, expanded form, words, Base 10, place value and anything else we can think of.

The unit comes with some games and practice pages, but sometimes students need a little more help than that.

We use a variety of number sense activities that we use to practice:

Saying Numbers I Have… Who Has…? Game: This set includes numbers with five or six digits and actually comes with three different games. Find the Saying Numbers to Hundred Thousands Game on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN).

Saying Big Numbers I Have… Who Has…? Game: This set includes numbers up to the billion place value. There are three games included in the set so you can practice as much as your students need. Find the Saying Numbers to Billions Game on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN).

Representing Numbers Pennant: This free activity is available in our store and makes a good review of all the number sense concepts. Find the Representing Numbers and Place Value Pennant Activity on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN).

Or number sense worksheets with a twist?

Interactive math notebooks are one way we teach number sense in our upper elementary classroom. Math class just hasn't been the same for us or our students since we started using interactive notebooks. Yes, they are work, but the benefits are HUGE! Come see what we do to make it work and get some ideas for yourself.

Sometimes we use worksheets, but we never use them as regular worksheets. You can read more about that in our post: Math Worksheet Games Your Students Will Love.

Place Value to 1 000: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)
Place Value to 10 000: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)
Place Value to 100 000: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)
Place Value to 1 000 000: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)
Place Value to 10 000 000: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)
Place Value to 1 000 000 000: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)

Comparing Numbers to 1 000: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)
Comparing Numbers to 10 000: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)
Comparing Numbers to 100 000: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)
Comparing Numbers to 1 000 000: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)
Comparing Numbers to 10 000 000: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)
Comparing Numbers to 1 000 000 000: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)

Rounding Numbers to 1 000: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)
Rounding Numbers to 10 000: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)
Rounding Numbers to 100 000: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)
Rounding Numbers to 1 000 000: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)
Rounding Numbers to 10 000 000: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)
Rounding Numbers to 1 000 000 000: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)

Skip Counting: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)
Decomposing Numbers to 1 000: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)
Counting Money to $100: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)

Representing Simple Fractions: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)
Comparing and Ordering Fractions With Common Denominators: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)

Introducing Integers: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)
Comparing and Ordering Integers: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)

You can also get our worksheets in full year bundles for each grade:

Math Worksheets Full Year Bundle for Grade 3: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)
Math Worksheets Full Year Bundle for Grade 4: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)
Math Worksheets Full Year Bundle for Grade 5: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)
Math Worksheets Full Year Bundle for Grade 6: Find on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)

And also in complete bundles for provincial outcomes:

Alberta-Aligned:

BC-Aligned:

Saskatchewan-Aligned:

We love to use task cards

Our task cards come with paper versions and digital versions. The Google Slides versions are perfect for practice and the Google Forms version is great for self-checking or grading. You can read more about this in our post: The Trouble With Task Cards and How to Fix It.

Each set of our task cards come with three different decks so you can easily differentiate. That’s seventy-two questions in each set.

Representing Numbers Task Cards Grade 3: Students can practice number sense up to one thousand. Different decks allow you to easily differentiate for your students. Find the Representing Numbers and Place Value to 1 000 Task Cards on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN).

Ordering and Comparing Whole Numbers Task Cards for Grade 3: This deck allows students to compare numbers up to one thousand using greater than, less than or equal to. Students will order numbers from least to greatest or vice versa. Find the Ordering and Comparing Numbers to 1 000 Task Cards on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN).

Representing Numbers Task Cards Grade 4/5: Place value, Base 10, expanded form, standard form and words are all included in this set for whole numbers. Find the Representing Numbers and Place Value to 1 000 000 Task Cards on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN).

Ordering and Comparing Numbers Task Cards Grade 4/5: This set allows students to compare numbers with greater, less than or equal to. Some questions ask students to put numbers in order from least to greatest or vice versa. Find the Ordering and Comparing Numbers Task Cards on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN).

Rounding Numbers Task Cards for Grades 4/5: These three decks practice front end rounding and rounding to specific place values with numbers of varying amounts up to one hundred thousand. Find the Rounding Numbers Task Cards on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN).

All our task cards are combined into one bundle. Find the Growing Task Cards Bundle on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN).

After we practice…

Interactive math notebooks are one way we teach number sense with numbers all the way up to one million in our upper elementary classroom. Math class hasn't been the same since we started using interactive notebooks. Yes, they are work, but the benefits are HUGE! Come see what we do to make it work and get some ideas for yourself.

Once we feel confident, we return to the math journal to prove we understand by completing the left page. We have found students who consider themselves “not good at math” tend to do better with interactive notebooks because it gives them a chance to verbalize their learning.

Students begin this page by explaining what they have learned about the concept from doing all the different activities.

Students demonstrate their understanding by completing a proof. This proof is a question we give students to prove they understand. We include these in our sets.

The connection is usually the most difficult part for students at first. Think of it as a way for students to remember the concept. It is just supposed to be a personal way to remember.

At the beginning of the year, these steps take longer than they will once students understand what they should be doing on each step. That is part of the reason we start with number sense. It’s a good unit to keep simple and work through the interactive notebook pages.

Each interactive notebook unit includes templates like the ones we’ve shown, materials for setting up your interactive notebooks, practice pages, games, assessments, “I Can” statements and complete lessons that are sub-proof.

There are many different templates for interactive math journals out there and most of them are great. The difference with our journals is that they are not just chopped-up worksheets. They are pages students interact with while they are doing their classwork.

Once the pages are complete…

Once we complete a concept in our math journals, we review the whole unit with a simple open-book assessment. Sometimes we just use worksheets or task cards to do this and sometimes we use a more formal assessment like a test. This lets us know which students still have work to do.

This is when we do some more targeted work with the students that need help while other students work independently mastering concepts from the unit. We continue this until the majority of students have completed the outcomes for the unit. Then we move on to the next one.

Ninja Note: We spiral our math all year long, so each unit test includes questions from all the units we’ve already completed during the school year. This is another way to keep revisiting the math notebooks all year long.

Teaching Elementary Math?

You might find these posts helpful:

What do you think?

Do you use interactive notebooks? What activities do you do to help your students develop number sense? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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