Number Tracing Worksheets 0-20

What's on every page

Each sheet focuses on one number and teaches it four ways. The big number at the top shows how to write it: a green dot marks where the pencil starts, red arrows show the direction, and numbered circles show the order of the strokes (4 and 5 have two strokes; 14 has three). Next to it, the number word is ready to trace, a ten frame shows how big the number is, and a row of pictures to count and color connects the symbol to real objects.

At the bottom are three rows of practice that slowly take the help away: first gray numbers to trace, then dotted numbers, then only green start dots so your child writes the number alone. The rows use real handwriting lines (top line, dashed middle, baseline) so the numbers come out the right size.

How to teach number formation

Start big. Before any pencil, let your child trace the big number with a finger while you say the stroke out loud ("start at the green dot, around and down"). Then move to the gray row with a pencil. Go slowly: neat beats fast, and correct direction matters more than perfect shape.

Always start at the green dot. Starting at the bottom is the most common habit that leads to messy, slow handwriting later, and it is much easier to fix at 4 than at 7. If your child starts in the wrong place, gently put the pencil back on the dot and try again.

Short, frequent practice works best: one sheet a day for a week builds more skill than five sheets in one sitting.

Backwards numbers (reversals)

Writing 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9 backwards is completely normal up to about age 7. It is not a sign of a problem; children's brains are still learning that direction matters for symbols (a chair is still a chair when it faces the other way, but a 3 is not). The stroke arrows help most: a child who starts 3 at the top left and curves to the right cannot easily write it backwards.

A simple trick: most numbers "face" to the right, just like the reading direction. Practise the tricky ones (2, 3, 5, 7, 9) a little more often, and praise every correct one.

Using the ten frames and pictures

A ten frame is a 2 x 5 grid. Coloring 7 boxes shows 7 as "5 and 2 more", which builds number sense much faster than counting dots one by one. For 11 to 20, the sheet has two ten frames: the first is always full, which shows that 14 is "ten and four". This is exactly what the two digits in 14 mean.

Ask your child to count the pictures by touching each one, then color them as they go so nothing is counted twice. Finally, ask them to point to the number, the word, the ten frame and the pictures: they all show the same amount.

Printing tips

Print at 100% ("Actual size") on US Letter, or use the A4 PDF on A4 paper. Black and white is fine. Download one number at a time, the 0-10 set, the 11-20 set, or everything in one PDF. For extra practice without printing, slide a sheet into a plastic sleeve and use a dry-erase marker.

Questions