Making Tens: Using Place Value Charts
7-1 Naming Tens and Ones Using Place Value Charts (1.NBT.B.2.A)
Place value charts are an excellent visual for students to help them understand the composition of numbers. Our FREE Place Value Chart can be used many different ways in your classroom!
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Print, Cut, and Laminate
Print, cut, and laminate for easy and durable student use. These can easily be placed at a center, or given individually to students to use as needed.
There are many different manipulatives that can be used to explain the concept of tens and ones to students. Traditional base ten blocks are great for this, as they are a very literal representation of tens and ones. Students need to visualize and conceptualize that there are ten ones in one ten. The long base ten block visually segmented into ten parts easily shows students that a ten is composed of ten ones.
Don't Have Base Ten Blocks?
If you do not have base ten blocks on hand, do not worry! There are many supplements for these manipulatives, and most are very cost effective. Instead of ten blocks, you can use straws, pipe cleaners, uncooked spaghetti noodles, etc. to represent a ten. Ones can be represented by anything smaller than the makeshift ten block. (Ideally, small enough that about ten of the ones pieces are the length of your makeshift ten block). Even if you do not have manipulatives on hand, tens and ones can always be drawn.
Make Connections
To make the connection between the manipulatives and a pictorial approach to understanding place value, it is helpful for students to demonstrate their thinking by sketching tens and ones to show composition of a number. For instance, the number 44 can be represented pictorially as follows:
In this picture, there are four tens (represented by the rectangular ten blocks) and four ones (represented by the four singular squares). Even without manipulatives, students can easily draw the composition of a number using shapes emulating base ten blocks to demonstrate tens and ones. Download our FREE Drawing Tens and Ones Practice Page to help your students practice identifying the composition of numbers using tens and ones.
Model the Process
To model this process for your class, begin by examining a single ones block. Ask students the value of the block. Add a few more blocks and ask students the new value. When students have shown they understand the value of a ones block, show them a tens block. Ask students the value of the tens block. Continue adding a tens block and counting up by tens in order for students to understand each tens block is worth ten.
Now put a tens block with three ones blocks. Ask students the value of the number you have created. Encourage students to share their thinking as to how they concluded the value. Pose different numbers for students to identify. When students are demonstrating proficiency in identifying numbers via base ten blocks, ask them to identify numbers the opposite way.
Write a Number on the Board
This time, write a number on the board for students to see. Ask students to draw a picture representing the number. (Ideally, with a place value chart, but this can also be done on a whiteboard). Students should correctly draw the tens and ones representing with the number.
Continue practicing place value with manipulatives, pictures, and place value charts. It is important to expose students to multiple methods of identifying the composition of a number, such as having them identify a number both in standard form, and when a number is represented pictorially.
This Lesson if from our 1st Grade Math Curriculum
Unit 7 – Addition to 100 and Numbers to 120
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