Knowing about the value of numbers helps children have a greater understanding of numbers or number sense. Here are some resources to teach kids about beginning place value concepts.
Major Concepts
Some of the major concepts students should learn are the value of digits in numbers along with the word name of numbers. Other important ideas to know are standard form, 2,341, and expanded form, 2,000+300+41+1. For an introduction to basic place value ideas try watching this video at linkslearnings.org.
Place Value Blocks
Let kids see how hundreds, tens and ones are represented using these place value block printables from abcteach.com. Ask students to represent simple numbers using these blocks. For a more practice on representing numbers with base ten blocks go to math-drills.com for printable worksheets and visuals.
Charts
Place Value Charts are essential tools for helping kids understand the value of numbers. Find several different PDF printable hundreds charts at superteacherworksheets.com. There are ones for hundreds, thousands, hundred thousands and hundred millions.
Writing and Saying Numbers
Believe it or not, one of the first steps of understanding numbers is being able to say them and write them correctly. Students need to know that three hundred thousand, five hundred ninety nine is written like this: 300,599 and not 3,599. A lot of times kids just write down the numbers and not the correct place value. Have them practice how to say and write numbers using this great website from mathcats.com.
Place Value Game
For this game you will need a spinner or a dice, pencils and a place value recording sheet. The object of the game is to make the biggest number. I like to first play this game whole class. Students take turns spinning the spinner or rolling the dice. If the first number rolled is a five then the students will need to decide where they should place the five in order to make the biggest number. Tell them to choose carefully. Once they choose there is not any erasing or use a pen to eliminate cheating. This process continues until the entire place value chart is filled up.
For a variation on this game, try Space Chase Place Value game. Students will need to understand place value up to the hundred thousands place. This game is different because the object of the game is to capture creepy space creatures. Read the full directions at scholastic.com and print out the reproducible needed to play the game.
Play a similar online version of these game here.
Biggest and Smallest Number Game
One game I always liked playing was make the biggest number. After writing numbers one through nine on large pieces of paper, groups of students were given numbers and then asked to make the biggest number they could. I might start off with four numbers like two, three, five and seven. The students are timed and asked to face the rest of the class with the numbers in front of their chest. The rest of the class is then asked if this is the biggest number. For number two, three, five and seven the biggest number made is 7,532. Make it harder by giving two of the same numbers and so on. See similar games with directions at mathwire.com.
Worksheets
Superteacherworksheets.com has worksheets to help students understand the name of place value along with the value of numbers. There are also worksheets on standard form, expanded form and rearranging digits to make the biggest and smallest numbers. Under the title, digit game, there are also directions and big numbers for a game similar to the one I explained above.
Sources:
Superteacherworksheets.com
mathwire.com.
scholastic.com
linkslearnings.org
abcteach.com.
math-drills.com
mathcats.com
