Instructional Activities for Place Value (page 2)

Activity: Making 10s Treats

Objective:

Forming groups of 10 and counting by 10s

Materials:

• Small paper bags, each marked “Ten”
• Pieces of cereal such as Cheerios or Fruit Loops
• Play money dimes (optional)
• Dice (regular or wooden cubes marked with numerals)

Directions:

Tell the children that they are going to make bags of treats to sell. Taking turns, each rolls the dice and takes that number of cereal pieces. When a child has 10 pieces, they are put in a bag marked “Ten.” Each bag of 10 may be exchanged with the storekeeper for a dime. After all the children have several turns, ask each of the students to tell, and write down, how many “cereal 10s” they made.

Activity: Order Game

Objective: 

Writing two- and three-digit numbers in order

Materials:

• Two number cubes, each marked with the digits 0–5
• Two number cubes, each marked with the digits 4–9
• Playing chart

Directions:

1. Students use their own individual charts.

2. For a two-digit game, the student rolls any three of the cubes. For a three-digit game, the student rolls all four of the cubes.

3. Player selects any two numbers rolled to make a two-digit number or combines any three cubes to make a three-digit number. In either case, players must choose the lowest two- or three-digit number they see for their turn.

4. For each turn, the cubes are rolled again and the student forms a two- or three-digit number greater than the last number he or she wrote, if possible. The new number is written in the next space.

5. Once a player cannot make a greater two- or three-digit number, he or she loses.

6. The first player to fill in all the boxes is a winner.

Example

2._________45________

3.________57_________

4. _______63__________

Variation:

Five cubes could be rolled to play a four-digit Start game.

Activity: Right Place

Objective:

Identify place values for large numbers