The Place Value Game

Understanding place value is an important math skill! Help your child gain confidence as he competes to create the largest number using a deck of playing cards and a place value mat. As you play, open a dialogue about where to put selected cards. (For example, a 9 should go in the highest place, as it will help make a larger number.) Ask questions about why your child selects a position for a card and what good strategies are to win. When your child is ready to move on, look at the variations for added challenges!

What You Need:

• One deck of playing cards (Print a deck.)
• Paper and pencil (to record scores)
• A Place Value Mat for each player (Print these out.)

What You Do:

1. Remove the tens and face cards from the deck. If you have Jokers, you can include them and have them count as 0.
2. Shuffle the deck of cards and place it face down.
3. Players take turns drawing a card from the pack and placing it on their Place Value Mats. Once placed, a card cannot be moved.
4. Play until all spaces on the mats are filled. Whoever has the largest number wins. Award the winner a point and play again!

Variations:

• Give players an opportunity to rearrange their cards after a winner has been selected. Award an additional point to whoever attained the highest score on their second try.
• Instead of trying to make the largest number, try to make the smallest number.
• Make the game more challenging. Add additional spaces to your Place Value Mat in order to create a bigger number. For fourth or fifth graders, add a decimal. (Then change the headings on your mat to tenths, hundredths, etc.)
• When all the places are filled, ask players to round their number to a certain place in order to determine the winner of the game.