Skip counting worksheets, fill in the missing numbers.

Skip counting means counting in steps larger than one, such as 2, 4, 6, 8 or 5, 10, 15, 20. It is the groundwork for the times tables, and a skip counting worksheet gives the learner a row of boxes with some left blank to fill in. This page builds those rows from the steps you type, so a sheet can practise one step, or several in turn, and each line is different.

How to use it

1. Type the steps in Count by, separated by commas: 2, 5, 10. Lines use them in turn, so line one counts by 2, line two by 5, line three by 10 and line four by 2 again.
2. Choose a Direction: Up, Down or Up and down.
3. Choose where lines start under Starts at.
4. Set Numbers in a line and Blank boxes, then Lines on a sheet and Sheets.
5. Press Save the PDF. The answer key shows every line filled in.

Where a line starts

• Zero, or the top: counting up starts at 0, so a line by 3 reads 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21. Counting down starts at the largest number of the line, so a line by 10 with eight numbers reads 70, 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 0.
• A multiple of the number: the line starts at one of the step's own table, such as 15 for a step of 5, giving 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50.
• Any number: the line can start anywhere, such as 13 by 5, giving 13, 18, 23, 28. It is harder, because the numbers are not in a times table.

How the blanks are chosen

The first two numbers of every line are always shown, so the learner can see the step before filling anything in. The blanks are picked at random from the rest of the line. With eight numbers and three blanks, three of the last six boxes are empty. If the learner has to fill in a long run, they carry on from the last shown number, so very high blank counts make hard lines. The program limits blanks to the length of the line minus two.

Steps to start with

No repeated lines

Two lines that count by the same step from the same start in the same direction would be the same line, so the page does not print both. If the settings are too tight to fill a sheet with different lines, it prints as many as it can and says so. Counting up from zero by 5 gives only one line, because it can only start at zero. For more different lines, choose A multiple of the number or Any number.

Using the sheets

• Say the whole line out loud before filling it in. The rhythm helps.
• Move on to the times tables when counting by a step feels easy. A line counting by 6 is the same as the 6 times table read out.
• Print a sheet counting down for a challenge, since it is harder than counting up.

For multiplication practice, use the math worksheet generator and the times tables chart. For sums, try the addition worksheets.