Have you ever noticed that once you introduce place value to your students that it continues to spiral back into your lessons almost every week? I believe no matter what math curriculum or scope and sequence you may be utilizing in your classroom, we are all in the same boat together… trying to find new and engaging place value activities.Yes, place value is so important that it needs to be reviewed, retaught, and practiced. Why? The concept of place value assists with so many other math concepts. If your students have a good grasp of the concept of place value, they will apply it to other lessons like number identification, multi-digit addition, multi-digit subtraction, greater than/less than, ordering numbers, and more.
So, when it comes to math topics, you can use your curriculum workbook (which in my opinion doesn’t provide nearly enough practice), buy a packet off of TPT (but then you have to buy another one when the next topic comes around), or unlock unlimited access to a multitude of math centers, practice activities, and lessons. Where can you find this last option?! Why Education to the Core Premium of course!
Place Value Activity 1.Write the Room
I am a huge supporter of getting my students up and moving as much as possible. Write the Room is a great option. Write the Room offers numerous skills-based task cards in the areas of ELA and Math, just like this place value activity.
2.Morning Meeting Routine
Do you count the number of school days you’ve attended? Or how many days to go? Either way, consider also having a space to draw the base ten blocks. As part of my morning meeting routine, we keep track of the days we’ve been in school as well as a countdown! Part of our morning routine is also drawing those numbers in base-ten blocks. I have whiteboard paper (aff) up near our morning meeting space in order to draw the place value.
3. Lego Block Place Value
Teach Me Mommy has this great idea that I saw using lego blocks. You only need big building blocks and a dry-erase marker. Each block presents a place: ones (units), tens, hundreds, or thousands. This hands-on approach will be sure to build those learning blocks in their minds as well as their hands.
Place Value Activity 4.File Folder Games
Do you feel your students need additional practice with place value? How about a fun and engaging “play” option? Yes, I did say play because with file folder games your students won’t even know they are learning because they are just so much fun! This “Place Value Race“, game allows your students to partner up and practice place value skills. Use as an early finisher activity, center rotation, or follow-up to a lesson.
5. Paint Swatch Place Value
Have you walked past the paint aisles in Home Depot and Lowes wondering… “hmmm…. I could use those for something”, but wasn’t sure what? Here is the answer! Place Value!! Color coordinate your ones column, tens column, and hundreds column to help students identify place value. What a cool way to make sure everyone is looking in the correct column based on the background color!
6.Math Centers
Do you feel you are spending hours putting together your math centers? Please stop doing that! Provide your students with hands-on skills practice in math and literacy while saving yourself hours of center prep with NO PREP Math Centers. Remember in #4 when we talked about making it a game? You can do that with hardly any prepwork. Print the game mat, add dice and BINGO daubers or crayons, and your students have an instant place value center.
Place Value Activity 7. Base Ten Monsters! (Or Robots)
Since you just provided your students with their own manipulatives from #6, let’s put those to a different use. Allow your students to play with them! Yes, play. Have your students create a monster or a robot using manipulatives or cut-outs of hundreds blocks, ten rods, and units. Students count up the total of their robot creations when finished. Allow them to create two robots and see which robot will win “the battle” (greater than/less than).
8. Place Value Names
Differentiation Station Creations has the coolest idea of bringing in some literacy skills into your place value lesson! Allow students to create letters using base ten blocks. Create a capital letter and its lowercase letter counterpart. Count up the base ten blocks and compare which was greater than? How about allowing your students to build their first name or last name? Add up the base ten blocks that it takes to create their name, sight word, or spelling word!
9.Identify Different Place Value Units
Can your students differentiate between numbers that have hundreds versus tens? Do they understand what it means when you say “the ones place”, “tens place”, and “hundreds place”? Give them a quick pre-assessment or check-in to see if they can discriminate between numbers that have different place values.
Place Value Activity 10. Place Value War
Use number cards, playing cards (numerals only – no face cards), or even Uno number cards(aff) for this activity. Deal the cards for an equal number of players. Divide your pile of cards into two or three (depending whether you want students to play using two-digit numbers or three-digit). Players flip over one card from each pile to create a two-digit or three-digit number. The one with the larger number wins all the cards played. Playing continues until a player is out of cards.
11. Place Value Read Alouds
Another passion of mine is incorporating texts into lessons. I love a good read-aloud, so I made sure I included some children’s books to incorporate into your next place value lesson!
- Zero the Hero by Joan Holub (aff)
- Sir Cumference and All the King’s Tens by Cindy Neuschwander (aff)
- Math Fables: Lessons That Count by Greg Tang (aff)
- Earth Day–Hooray! by Stuart J. Murphy(aff)
- Place Value by David A. Adler (aff)
- A Place for Zero by Angeline Sparagna LoPresti (aff)
- The King’s Commissioners by Aileen Friedman (aff)
- A Million Dots by Andrew Clements (aff)
- How Much is a Million by David Schwartz (aff)
- Penguin Place Value by Kathleen Stone (aff)
12.Place Value Math Printables
These math printables are designed to give you the ability to not only differentiate between the needs of each individual student but also give you different ways to teach the concepts! So many of these activities are simple, hands-on practice, like this Spin, Make, and Write. Print the worksheet, add base ten blocks, a paperclip, and apencil, and your students get to create their own numbers to build.
Place Value Activity 13. Rolling for Place Value
In partners, students will roll a die (or two dice). Take that amount of unit blocks. When the student gets over 10 unit blocks, they must exchange those units for a ten rod. The same rules apply when the student earns 10 rods, exchanging those for hundred blocks. This game continues until one person reaches 100, 200, or any number that the teacher chooses.
14.Place Value Yahtzee
While you have those dice out from #13, think about allowing your students to play this FREE Yahtzee Game! Games4Gains has several options to print off with this game making it truly differentiated for you and your students’ needs. Rules and materials are included in this free resource!
15.Color By Number
Let your students show off their place value skills when they color the sceneaccording to the place value code included! And nothing says a quiet classroom like students coloring!
Place Value Activity 16. Pool Noodles
Have some pool noodles (aff) lying around? If not you are going to be on the hunt for them to complete this activity because it’s so cool! By cutting ones/units and tens/rods out of pool noodles, students can create a whole group two-digit number. Prior to this activity cut small circles out about 2 inches thick for your ones/units. Then cut about a ruler-length portion of the noodle as your tens/rods. Have two long wooden rods or broomsticks where students can place the units and rods onto the appropriate pole. Count up the base ten noodles to find the mystery number.
17. Center Work Mats
I can’t seem to get a hold of my organizational skills this year. My desk has turned to the “Which pile is it in?” Honestly, my students’ desks aren’t much better. The CORE Binder is the ULTIMATE resource that covers daily activities from classroom routine, math, and ELA. These Classroom Organizers and Resources for Education also include social and emotional tools too. The Place Value mats are perfect for daily use and individual practice. All you need to do is print and add manipulatives!
18. Place Value Hopscotch
Draw a large hopscotch playing field or grid on the sidewalk with chalk. Next, fill in each block with random multi-digit numbers. Finally, allow your imagination to run wild! Have students hop to the correct number with a verbal prompt: “Jump to the number with a 3 in the tens place”. Mix up the actions to crawl, crab walk, skip, hop on one foot, etc. You can also create other place value games using the same board. Consider hopping in numbers from smallest to greatest. Jump onto the playing board with your feet in different boxes. Which foot has the bigger number?
Place Value Activity 19. Snowball Place Value Toss
Besides a good theme and texts, I also love to incorporate hands-on gross-motor activities. Marcy Bernethy: Saddle Up for 2nd Grade shares a bean bag toss to use with your place value lesson! Since I am all about the theme, don’t be afraid to mix up the materials you’re tossing! Create snowballs with crumpled paper for a wintery theme or if you have snowball pom poms lying around too. Small inflatable beach balls would work too as summer approaches or wanting to warm up a bit.
20.I Have, Who Has?
Here is another easy prep resource for educators (sensing a theme here?)! Remember, I love getting my students moving and interacting with each other.This Place Value activity is an interactive activity PERFECT as a warm-up, practice, or review! However, my favorite piece of this resource is that it encourages students to focus and listen closely to hear their numbers!
21. Place Value Nuts and Bolts
The Measured Mom has the perfect hands-on, fine motor activity! Also, I’m a little jealous that I didn’t think of this one first! Wow, talk about an engaging hands-on lesson! Use nuts as your ones/units and the bolts as tens/rods. This activity is PERFECT for exchanging ten ones to make a rod/ten!
Place Value Activity 22. Ping Pong Challenge
On a ping pong ball write the word: ones, then another ball write tens, and another is hundreds (you can continue with additional ping pong balls for whatever lesson you are planning).Have students bounce the ping pong balls into numbered containers. Whatever ping pong ball bounced into the numbered cup is the number to write in that place value. Identify what number you created. Extend this lesson by having students write the expanded form of the multi-digit numbers that they create.
Activity 23.Place Value and Science
Would you believe me if I said that the Weather and Seasons Unit covers more than just the weather?!? With over 50 cross-curricular adventures this resource has it all! I just love the weather-related base ten cards that my students can manipulate and create their own addition, subtraction, or comparing numbers problems! Remember, I love a theme! Bonus because the hands-on science experiments here are just amazing!
24. YouTube Videos
Do your students LOVE watching video clips?! Here are some great supplemental videos to add to your next place value lesson!Ones, Tens, Hundreds, Thousands Place Value for Kids – Homeschool PopPlace Value – Brain Pop Jr.Place Value Song For Kids – Numberock (my personal favorite on this YouTube list)Ones and Tens: Place Value for Kids – Ones and Tens – Kids AcademyOnes, Tens and Hundreds: The Place Value of Numbers – Learn and Play
Place Value Activity 25. Rainbow Place Value
With spring quickly approaching, let’s add in some food! Use three different pipe cleaners (I would suggest cutting them at various lengths ones smaller, tens medium, hundreds large). Provide students with a number to build. Using fruit loops or cheerios, students can thread the food onto the appropriate pipe cleaner.
Does this list of 25 Activities to Teach Place Value hit that sweet spot you were looking for? I was afraid of letting my place value lessons become stale, but not anymore! Which ones are you most excited about trying in your classroom? Do you have a fun lesson or activity to include on this list? Don’t be afraid to reach out and let us know! We can only grow stronger together!
Written By: Christopher Olson
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