5 Fun and Effective Place Value Activities Your First Graders Will Love
Place value can feel like a big concept for little learners. When you first introduce tens and ones, you might hear things like, “But why is the 4 a four here and a forty there?” or watch a student confidently tell you that 62 has 6 ones and 2 tens. Yep, we’ve all been there! The secret to making place value stick is using the right approach. And today, we’re covering just that! Come along for 5 fun and effective place value activities for firsties!
Place Value Activities Must Be Fun!
So here’s the thing, friends. . . First graders need plenty of opportunities to build, see, say, draw, compare, and write numbers before the concept really clicks. This means LOTS of practice. But the caveat is that it needs to be fun! Why? Because we both know our kiddos will check out long before those skills are cemented if it’s not engaging.Â
Now don’t worry, you won’t need a giant collection of fancy math manipulatives or hours of prep to make that happen. With the right resources and a strategic approach, we can make place value practice fun and easy!
1. Build a Number With Everyday Classroom Supplies
Let’s start with one of my favorite no-prep place value activities because you can do it with things you probably already have in your classroom.
Give each student a handful of small classroom items, such as craft sticks, linking cubes, straws, or even pencils. Then call out a two-digit number, such as 34. Have students build the number using groups of ten and leftover ones. With 34, they would make three groups of ten and have four individual items left over. Then have students say the number together: “34 has 3 tens and 4 ones.”
Once students are comfortable, switch things up. Instead of calling out the number, tell them how many tens and ones to build. For example: “Build a number with 5 tens and 2 ones.” Students build it, write the number, and tell a partner what they made. You can add an extra element of fun by turning this into a mystery number game. Say, “My number has 4 tens and 7 ones. What number am I?” Students can build the number before giving their answer.
This simple activity works especially well as a whole-group warm-up or small-group lesson because students are physically building the numbers instead of only looking at them on a worksheet. That extra connection of making numbers with physical objects helps place value stick in their brains!
2. Go on a Place Value Scoot
Need an activity that gets your first graders up and moving? Try Place Value Scoot!
Place task cards around the classroom. Give each student a recording sheet, then have students move from card to card, solving each place value problem. For example, a card might show a collection of base ten blocks and ask: “What number is shown?” Another might give students a number and ask them to draw the tens and ones.
Give students a set amount of time at each card, then have them scoot to the next one. This is a fun way to turn math practice into something that feels more like a game. It’s also an easy way to see which students are confidently connecting base ten representations to written numbers and which students may need a little more support.
The Place Value Task Cards resource makes this especially easy to implement. It includes 30 printable task cards, black-and-white options, digital Google Slides, student answer sheets, directions for playing scoot, and answer keys. You can use the cards for a whole-class scoot, leave them at a center, or assign the digital version for independent practice.
3. Play Roll (or Spin), Build, and Draw
Once students understand the basic idea of tens and ones, it’s time to give them a chance to practice representing numbers in different ways. A simple place value game can be a great way to do this.
Students can roll dice or spin a spinner to choose digits, create a two-digit number, and then represent that number using tens and ones. For example, if they make 58, they might draw five tens and eight ones.
You can have students:
- Build the number with base ten blocks
- Draw the number
- Write the number in standard form
- Identify the number of tens and ones
- Compare their number with a partner’s number
This is a great activity for math centers because students can work with a partner while getting lots of repeated practice. If you want ready-to-use activities for this idea, the Place Value Activities & Centers Pack includes games and centers using spinners, dice, dominoes, and base ten blocks.
4. Play a Tens and Ones Matching Game
Sometimes first graders just need lots of opportunities to look at numbers and make connections. A matching game is perfect for this!
Create cards that show numbers in different forms. For example, one card might say 47, another might say 4 tens and 7 ones, and another might show a picture of four tens and seven ones.
Students work to match the cards that represent the same number. You can make this a partner game or use it as a small-group activity with teacher support.
For students who are still learning the concept, start with just two representations. For example: The number 47 could be shown with a card that has 4 tens and 7 ones with base ten blocks. Once students are ready for a challenge, add a third representation. You could include the number card, the number word, and the base ten blocks picture.
Now students aren’t just memorizing that 47 is a number. They’re learning that a number can be represented in several different ways. My Place Value Activities & Centers Pack includes two different sets of place value matching cards that make this idea easy to implement in your classroom.Â
5. Give Students Quick, No-Prep Practice
Hands-on activities and games are wonderful, but there are definitely days when you need something simple. Maybe you have five minutes before lunch, or you need a quick math center. Or perhaps you want to check who actually understands tens and ones before moving on.
That’s where a good collection of no-prep practice pages can be a lifesaver! The key is to use worksheets that are actually fun to complete and easy for students to use independently. I like to choose place value activities that allow students to practice skills such as:
- Counting and writing tens and ones
- Matching numbers with tens and ones
- Adding tens and ones
- Subtracting tens and ones
- Writing numbers in standard and expanded form
- Representing two-digit numbers
- Working with hundreds, tens, and ones for enrichment
These First Grade Place Value No Prep Worksheets include 40 place value worksheets covering most of the first grade Numbers in Base Ten standards. You’ll find practice pages, student anchor charts, mini-assessments, answer keys, and enrichment pages that explore hundreds, tens, and ones.
They’re useful for homework, independent practice, centers, quick assessments, or those times when you need a meaningful activity without spending your evening making one. And because there are different versions with CCSS, TEKS, and no standard labels, you can choose the format that works best for your classroom!
Keep Place Value Practice Simple and Consistent
The biggest thing to remember with place value is that your first graders don’t need to master everything in one lesson.
Instead, focus on giving them opportunities to work with numbers in lots of different ways. Build, draw, say, write, and compare numbers. Take them apart, put them back together, and so on. The more opportunities students have to make those connections, the more comfortable place value will become.
And when you mix hands-on practice with games, task cards, centers, and simple worksheets, you can keep students engaged while still giving them the repetition they need!
Ready to Make Place Value Planning Easier?
If you’re looking for ready-to-use resources to make place value practice a little easier, I’ve got you covered! Whether you need no-prep worksheets for independent practice, hands-on games and centers, or task cards for a fun review activity, these resources give you plenty of ways to help your first graders practice tens, ones, and numbers to 120.
Your first graders can absolutely learn place value. Sometimes they just need to build it, play with it, talk about it, and practice it a few different ways before it clicks!
Looking for More?
Check out these posts next for more first grade math ideas!
- 7 Must-Have Math Tools for Your Primary Classroom
- 5 Fun and Flexible Ways to Use Math Task Cards in First Grade
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