Hundreds, tens, and ones. Teaching place value might seem simple. But it is a monumental jump (no pun intended). After all, when we begin teaching place value, we ask students to shift from counting with one-to-one correspondence to counting groups AND to understand that ten ones are the same as one group of ten.
Teaching place value takes many forms. After all, at its core, place value is understanding groups of 10. And that is a skill that appears repeatedly in our base-ten world. But how do you support the practice of place value in an engaging, meaningful way?
Today, I’m sharing some of my favorite resources– tools, printable activities, and prep-free games. Let’s dive in!
Place Value Supports
Place Value is based on a digit’s different values depending on its position. Digits in the tens and ones places have different values. If one is in the tens place, it is no longer one. It becomes 10. Seems simple, right? Not so fast.
Students need much support in the early stages of building foundational place value knowledge.
Unfortunately, it is not always easy to know which supports are effective versus which overcomplicate place value. My advice: cut to the bare basics.
There are two place value supports I could not have lived without.
- Hundreds, Tens, and Ones place value mats
- Hundreds charts
Hundreds, Tens, and Ones Place Value Mat
When I first began teaching elementary math, I regularly forgot how confusing the left-to-right direction of our numbers could be. Enter: place value mats.
Place value mats that include tens and ones or hundreds, tens, and ones are excellent resources. They are simple: a piece of paper is divided into two or three sections. Each section is dedicated to one place value. They can be used for all activities that utilize manipulatives or tallies and are quick to print or make.
Place value mats can be used with a variety of math manipulatives. Students place math manipulatives into the designated sections. Some great math manipulatives include base ten blocks and unifix cubes. These types of math manipulatives are great in combination with place value mats. Check out how I use them for games and activities below!
Place value mats can also be used for writing. It can be hard for students to associate a digit with a value. I like to create dry-erase place value mats or mini place value tables as a way for students to structure their writing of larger numbers.
Have you ever noticed your students having trouble aligning multidigit numbers? Does this impact your students’ ability to add and subtract? I saw this over and over again in my classrooms. Place value mats and tables helped students to learn the organization of numbers when adding and subtracting.
Hundreds Charts
Hundreds charts are another excellent resource that supports the building of an understanding of place value. Hundreds charts help students visualize the progression of numbers from either 0-99 or 1-100.
Hundreds charts can also act as a game board for many activities. Students typically add or subtract following the progression of the chart. Students can either use manipulatives and move them line gameboard pieces along the chart. Students can also mark or color in the chart.
Hundreds charts are also a great visual support for jumping tens and ones. Because they are typically organized in groups of 10, students can quickly see patterns from one line to the next.
Finally– and perhaps most importantly– hundreds charts also act as a tool to make place value activities more concrete. This might mean counting objects in groups of tens and ones for beginners. Beginners can practice one-to-one correspondence.
Hundreds, Tens, and Ones Activities
More & Less
Engaging activities don’t need to be complex. More and Less proves it. I designed More and Less to get kids thinking about all of the different jumps you can make from one number. Even though it is a simple activity, there are multiple ways I play.
First, we play More and Less with hundreds charts. Students build a sense of adding tens and ones. They have fun while exploring the jumps they can make above, below, and side-to-side of a specific number. This helps them practice adding and subtracting ten more or less and one more or less.
Second, students have to think about hundreds and tens. They practice making forward and backward jumps of both 10 and 100. For example, let’s look at the number 12: 12 + 10 = 22, 12 – 10 = 2, 12 + 100 = 112. This leveled-up experience goes beyond the boundaries of a hundred chart. Instead, students can use additional math manipulatives (such as rods and units or base ten blocks).
Missing Pieces
Sometimes, the best practice requires total confusion. That’s what makes Missing Pieces so fun and so supportive.
The activity starts with a hundred chart. Remove a chunk of the numbers (differentiate by how many are in each row or column, depending on the student). It helps encourage students to recognize patterns within the chart to fill in the missing pieces.
I use charts of 100, 120, and even 119. This is my personal favorite because the numbers go up, as they increase. I know that many curriculums require the use of the traditional 100 chart, so I have made both available!
Ten More +
This is a fun, easy-to-prep tens and ones activity. Even after years of using it, students never seem to get bored despite its simplicity.
You only need a game board, a die, and colorful counters or math manipulatives.
Students take turns rolling the die and adding ten to the starting number. They then cover the numbers on the game board. The winner is the first player to place four in a row.
Ten More + is perfect for students who are beginning to make the connection between single-digit numbers and teen numbers.
Roll, Build, Write
Are you looking for an independent activity once students get the hang of tens and ones?
Roll, Build, & Write is one of my favorite tens and ones activities for giving my students independent practice.
Roll, Build & Write allows students to have fun rolling dice and practice building numbers with tens and ones. But, it doesn’t end there. It also reinforces writing out the numbers in expanded form.
Even better, this is a never-ending center with ample opportunity for differentiation. Unlike other games or activities, students can keep creating new numbers for their entire time at the station. This activity can be used for tens and ones or ones, tens, and hundreds.
Place Value Games
Base Ten Cards
Base ten cards are a never-ending source of fun. Students can play three games: war, memory, or go fish. And I meant it when I said it’s a never-ending source of fun. The fun doesn’t stop at the end of your math class. I’ve had students so excited to play with them that they asked to break out the cards during free time or indoor recess.
There are two types of cards. One set has numbers written numerically, and the other is illustrated with hundreds, tens, and ones depicted as base-ten blocks. These two sets of cards, in conjunction, help students create important connections across how we show place value and numbers.
Bonus: All of these card games use the same cards. That’s right! It’s one prep for many games.
The Digit Place Value Game
Digit Place is an excellent whole-group or small-group game to introduce or advance understanding of place value. It involves plenty of logic and requires some basic place value understanding.
In fact, while this game can be used to assess a baseline understanding of place value, it also creates opportunities for powerful math conversations. For years, I introduced Digit Place to my students on the first day of school, and we continued playing it throughout the year.
Set-up is simple, and prep can be done right in front of your students. All you need is a whiteboard or smartboard and a corresponding marker. Intrigued? I’ve written all about Digit Place here.
Understanding place value is a big jump for students– and one that cannot be skipped! Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to bring place value to life. Even better, they can be adjusted to students’ needs, whether working with tens and ones or moving up to hundreds and thousands. Let me know your favorites in the comments!
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