Place Value Activities and The Number Pieces App

The Number Pieces app is an excellent tool for teaching and learning place value. Here are a few activities that you can use with kids in grades 1–2. These activities explore base ten concepts and models within 1,000 that will help lay the foundation for learning double-digit computation.

Activity 1: Ask the child to show a certain number using the base ten pieces. For example, 3 tens, 7 ones, and 2 hundreds. (I like to vary the order of hundreds, tens, and ones.) Have the child count the pieces and then use the writing tool to write the number. Try to include 0 of a certain piece (for example, 3 hundreds, 5 ones, 0 tens) and to also give more than 10 ones or 10 ten-strips (5 tens, 2 hundreds, and 14 ones). This activity reinforces students’ skills in place value, counting, reading and writing 3-digit numbers. It also helps build flexibility with the different ways numbers can be represented.

Activity 2: Ask the child to write a number, and then have him or her add on to that number. For example, “Write 34, please. Then show me 3 ones, 2 hundreds, and 1 ten. How many would that be in all?” The child can count on to find the total or can build the first number and then count the entire collection.

Activity 3: Give the child a number to write, such as 42. The child writes the number and then pulls out pieces to represent the number. This will develop the concept of decomposing numbers, which will be helpful during Unit 3 where students will investigate the splitting strategy as a way to add two 2-digit numbers. We hope you enjoy these activities using the Number Pieces app.

We hope you enjoy these activities using the Number Pieces app.

Jami Smith is a media specialist for MLC.