Sometimes place value can be the hardest concept (conceptually speaking) for first graders to understand. Yes, they can tell you how many hundreds, tens or ones are in a number...but do they really get it? Well in chapter 6 there are tons of activities to make sure they do get it.
But here's something to think about...a few years ago I was listening to a speaker at a professional development meeting talk about place value and how
Example: I'm at the board showing my students how to add two digits...lets say its 56 + 36. I go through the step of adding the ones first. "Class, 6+6=12. I bring my one down to the ones column then I carry my two over." (I'm sure I'm the only one who's done this). Wait a minute, I'm not carrying over two...I'm carrying over ten. Un-teaching all my hard work.
That was my Ah-Ha Moment in terms of instruction of place value and from that point on my instruction looked a lot different. Just something to think about.
What Are We Teaching:
When in doubt look to your state's course of study standards, or Common Core Standards. If you check out Lory's Page you'll be able to download the Common Core Standards for first and second grades. Thanks Lory!
Debbie lists the most general standards you are sure to find when teaching place value. Some are listed below.
*Counting to 100
*Group counting by tens to fifty or more
*Read, write and understand numbers from 20 to 50 or more (depending on your grade level)
*Use broken counting
*Count by tens off the decade (14,24,34,)
*Putting together and taking apart two-digit numbers
*Developing an understanding of place value as students solve two digit addition and subtraction problems
*Describe Compare and order numbers to 999
*Representing numbers in various ways
Having a supply of Hundreds Charts will allow students to see what happens when you count by 5s,10s, or off decade. Here are my (specially made for my blogging friends) set of designer Hundreds Charts...I call anything with a little color designer ;) Click on the picture to grab your set. Don't you just love the dots?
What Are the Students Doing at Place Value Stations
Race to Fifty or One Hundred
Here is one game my students loved to play. In the game of Race to Fifty or One Hundred, students each need a ones and tens mat, a die and connecting cubes. They take turns rolling the die and counting out that many cubes. When they have a group of ten they can connect those and slide them over to the tens side of the board. The first person to get to 50 or 100 wins.
There was another variation in MWS: Race to Zero. This works in the opposite way. Students start out with the specified number (50 or 100 cubes). They roll the die and take away that many placing them on the ones side. They keep rolling and breaking down their cubes until they reach zero. No matter which way you decide to let your students play, you'll need the game boards. Click on either picture to get your set.
Ants at the Picnic
Here is another collection game. This time students roll 1 die and take that many ants. When they have a collection of ten individual ants they can trade for one rod of ten ants. Students keep rolling, collecting and trading until they collect 50 or 100 ants (depending on which game they play). Click on the picture to collect your game.
Make copies of these charts on colored card stock. Cut them out into a variety of puzzles and then laminate. Give students a blank grid and have them put the puzzle back together again. Click on the picture to get your copy, including the blank grid.
Trading Games Using Money
If you click here and here you can get a copy of all the Money Trading Games I created in an earlier post.
Play $999 Monster Money Challenge
In MWS Debbie called the game $999 Monopoly Money Challenge.
But I created Monster Money. It works the same way as Debbie's game.
Directions:You will need 15 one hundred dollar bills, 25 ten dollar bills, and 50 one dollar bills. Place the money in a
Each student reaches into the bag and removes three bills at a time. Then they each add up the money and whoever has the most gets to keep both players money. They keep track of their money by placing their bills on the corresponding places on the mat( hundreds, tens, ones), making exchanges when possible. Players keep going until one person gets $999.
This game is on page 144 in MWS.
In the meantime click on the picture to get your set of Monster Money.
Playing Make the Biggest Number
In this game students shuffle two separate decks of 0-9 number cards. Both players turn over two cards at a time and try to make the biggest number. The player who makes the bigger number gets to keep both cards or they get a point. At the end of play the student with the most cards or points is the winner. A variation could be Make the Smallest Number. Click on the picture to get your set. I've also included mats using Tens and Ones and Hundreds tens and Ones.
Number of the Day
I use this each year with my first graders. Each student has their own book and it's a part of our daily Math Morning Routines.
Posted on the wall I'll have a sign that says; Today's Number is...I try to choose numbers I feel they need to work on, sometimes it's the number of days we've been in school, it just varies according to what they need.
Students take out their Number of the Day books and copy the number in the center of the page. Then they have to tell me the numbers that are one more, one less, ten more and ten less than the Number of the Day. On the back of that page they have to represent the number in four different ways: tallies, coins, objects, addition or subtraction sentences. I usually make books each nine weeks. I fold the pages towards each other and place the cover page around those pages and staple. Click on the picture to get your copy.
This is not an exhaustive list but it's a place to get started.
Connecting cubes
Counters
Base ten blocks (units, rods and flats)
Ten frames
Numeral Cards
Numeral cubes (Dice)
Bags of objectives to count (The Dollar Tree has lots of collectibles)
Math and Literature Connections to Place Value
Listed below are a few children's books related to the instruction of place value.
Professional Titles for Teaching Place Value
I hope you have enjoyed my little post as much as I enjoyed putting it together for you. If there is anything I didn't cover that you'd like me to, please let me know. If you like what you see, and download it...leave some love, feedback, suggestions. I hope you find something you can use next year! I have to admit I was stressed out for this post...I had nightmares about the internet going out or my computer catching a bug...I know crazy right.
Don't forget to link up and blog about your thoughts on place value. I can't wait to read your posts!
.HEIC)
