Vertical Number Line Poster [FREE Printable PDF]

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1 Vertical Number Line vs Horizontal Number Line

3 Designing the Vertical Number Line Posters

4 What It Looks Like in my High School Math Classroom

5 Free Download of Vertical Number Line Poster (PDF)

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Transform your math classroom with a free printable vertical number line poster in PDF format. This number line poster is ideal for both middle and high school math classrooms. Download and print today!

printable vertical number line poster in pdf format for high school or middle school math classroom decoration

I have wanted one of these vertical number lines for my high school math classroom forever.

I finally decided to create my own vertical number line template which ranges from -45 to +45. Just print the pages you need for your space!

Vertical Number Line vs Horizontal Number Line

Years ago, I made a horizontal number line poster that quickly became a classroom staple. I’m not getting rid of my trusty horizontal number line. I’m keeping it and adding a vertical number line at the same time.

horizontal number line poster in high school math classroom

I want my students to be able to choose which tool works best for them since I have students which prefer each.

It also means I can have number lines on multiple walls of my classroom!

Assembling the Number Line Poster

Determine how much vertical wall space you have. This will determine which pages of the vertical number line file that you need to print and prep for your classroom.

Print the appropriate pages of the PDF.

printed page of vertical number line poster before cutting and assembling

Laminate each page.

MATH = LOVE RECOMMENDS…

drawing of laminator machine with text "laminating recommendations"

A laminator is a MUST-HAVE for me as a math teacher! I spent my first six years as a teacher at a school with a broken laminator, so I had to find a way to laminate things myself.

I’ve had several laminators over the years. I currently use a Scotch laminator at home and a Swingline laminator at school.

I highly recommend splurging a bit on the actual laminator and buying the cheapest laminating pouches you can find!

Cut each page in half along the dashed line.

Cut off the bottom edge of each strip. [You could also cut off the top edge of each strip. If you choose to go this route, you would start taping the number line together at the top of the number line.]

close-up of assembled vertical number line poster laying on tan carpet

Tape the strips together starting at the bottom of the number line. If you skip the lamination step, you could use a glue stick to attach each strip to the next.

Designing the Vertical Number Line Posters

These vertical number line posters have six numbers on each strip which results in 12 numbers per letter-sized sheet of paper.

I mentioned above that you can form any number line between -45 and +45. Actually, you can form a number line between -48 and +47, but that seems just too weird to me.

If you print the vertical number line in its entirety, there will be 9 pages of numbers and 1 page of arrows.

vertical number line poster printable pdf page showing 36-47

vertical number line poster printable pdf page showing 24-35

vertical number line poster printable pdf page showing 12-23

vertical number line poster printable pdf page showing 0-11

vertical number line poster printable pdf page showing -12 to -1

vertical number line poster printable pdf page showing -24 to -13

vertical number line poster printable pdf page showing -36 to -25

vertical number line poster printable pdf page showing -48 to -37

vertical number line poster printable pdf page showing arrows pointing toward positive and negative infinity

I do realize that with six numbers on each strip, the 0 is not centered on the strip. You shouldn’t be able to tell this once the strips are taped or glued together and are hanging on the wall of your classroom.

If you are bothered by the fact that the negatives will have one more number than the positives if you hang up each strip in its entirety, you can trim off the extra negative number or you can slightly bump up the arrow that points to negative infinity to cover that extra number.

What It Looks Like in my High School Math Classroom

I ended up creating a -24 to +23 vertical number line poster to hang in my classroom.

vertical number line poster hanging in high school math classroom as decoration

If this had been hanging in my old classroom with much higher ceilings, I would have been able to make the number line quite a bit longer. At least my new classroom has actual storage!

You could also build a giant vertical number line to lay down in the hall. I think that could be very cool!