How to Teach Place Value to Grade 1

Place value is a tricky concept for kids to grasp and therefore needs to be fun, interactive and hands-on. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Use Concrete Materials and Visual Aids: Place value charts and manipulatives such as base ten blocks are an important in helping students build their understanding of this concept.
2. Hands-On Learning: Provide students with a range of manipulatives for them to use to represent units, tens, hundreds. Have them work with a partner in a peer-supported learning environment.
3. Connect to Real-life Experiences: Connect place value to real-life examples – eg. shopping catalogues etc
4. Place Value Math Wall: Keep a visual display of place value posters on your math wall or bulletin, so students have a constant reference point when engaged in place value activities. Refer to this wall during daily or weekly reviews of this concept.
5. Partner Place Value Games: Believe it or not, a set of dice is an effective and fun way to play a range of  engaging place value games – for example:

• Roll and Build: Each player rolls a set of dice then builds a number – eg. if they roll a 3 and a 4, they can create either 34 or 43. The player with the highest (or lowest) number wins a point.
• Place Value Race: Each player has a a number chart. Players take turns rolling the dice, creating a number, locating it on the number chart and placing on it, articulating to their partner the one, tens, hundreds value. The game continues until the first player to fill up the number chart wins!
• Place Value Bingo: In groups of 3, have kids create their own bingo cards with various numbers (one, two and three digit numbers). Players take turns to roll the dice (one, two or three) and match the numbers rolled to their bingo cards. The first player to fill their card with counters wins!

How to Teach Place Value to Grade 1

If you wish to complement your place value lessons for 1st grade with these resources, click here to purchase a Place Value Packet that consists of math worksheets, place value game ideas, math word wall vocabulary cards and posters:

Place Value Bulletin Board Lettering

MAB Place Value Charts/Posters

Place Value Vocabulary Cards

Place Value ‘Roll Build, Expand’ Worksheets (use dice!)

How to Teach Place Value to Grade 1

• Bulletin Board Lettering that spells ‘Place Value!’ (print on colored card)
• Place Value Posters with words and MAB pictures
• Place Value Math Vocabulary Cards
• ‘Roll, Build & Draw MABs, Expand’ Worksheets

• Print all contents and create a Place Value Bulletin Board or Math Wall
• Print 2 sets of the math vocabulary cards for you students to play assorted Place Value Games such as SNAP, matching pairs and memory game.
• Use the ‘Roll Build, Draw & Expand’ math worksheets for students to apply and practice their math skills
• Ideal also for end of unit assessment!

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