Place Value Teaching Resources
Browse place value charts, printable worksheets, games and more teaching resources aligned to the Australian curriculum.
This collection of teacher-created resources has been carefully reviewed by the expert teachers on the Teach Starter team to ensure every single one is ready to use in the classroom. That means you can save hours on lesson planning with activities ready to print or use digitally!
Want to learn more about this section of the maths curriculum, or just looking for fresh ideas to engage your students? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including a look at the meaning of place value and tips on teaching place value in the classroom!
What Is Place Value? A Kid-Friendly Definition
When it comes time to teach place value, it helps to have a simple definition to use to introduce this core maths concept to your class. Here's how we explain the meaning to our students:
In maths, the term place value refers to the value of a digit in relation to its position in a number. For example, in the decimal system (also referred to as the Hindu-Arabic system), which is based on powers of 10, the value of a digit in a number depends on its position relative to the decimal point, as follows:
- The digit in the ones place has a value of 1 times the digit.
- The digit in the tens place has a value of 10 times the digit.
- The digit in the hundreds place has a value of 100 times the digit.
- The digit in the thousands place has a value of 1000 times the digit.
- And so on.
Place Value Example
Like most maths concepts, looking at place value examples with your students is key to helping them understand the concept. So let's look at an example of place value using the number 3245:
- 3 is in the thousands place
- 2 is in the hundreds place
- 4 is in the tens place
- 5 is in the ones place
Therefore, its value can be calculated as:
(3 x 1000) + (2 x 100) + (4 x 10) + (5 x 1) = 3000 +200 +40 + 5 = 3245.
Why Is Place Value Important?
Place value is an important concept for primary students to understand, as it is a major factor in understanding numbers and their overall value.
Understanding place value is also essential for performing the four maths operations, and it will help students as they move on toward working with decimal fractions, scientific notation and other mathematical concepts.
What Is a Place Value Chart?
A handy tool for teaching this maths concept is the place value chart! This visual teaching tool can be used to represent and organise numbers based on their value and position in a given number.
A place value chart is typically divided into columns representing the different powers of 10 in our number system. Each column is labelled with the name of the place value it represents (e.g. ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, etc.) and contains a series of boxes or cells — each of which corresponds to a single digit.
The rightmost column will represent the ones place, the next column to the left will represent the tens place, the next represents the hundreds place, and so on.
Place Value vs. Face Value — What's the Difference?
At some point, your students may ask about face value — after all, the terms sound similar! So are they interchangeable? The answer is no.
Face value and place value — despite their similar names — are not the same, but they are related.
As we've already noted, the place value of a digit tells us the value of that digit based on its position in a number. The place value of a digit changes depending on where it is in the number.
On the other hand, the face value of a digit tells us the actual value of the digit itself, regardless of its position in the number. So, for example, in the number 357, the face value of the digit 5 is simply 5.
In essence, place value is what helps us understand the value of a number based on the position of its digits, but face value is what helps us understand the value of individual digits in a number.
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4-Digit Place Value Game - Interactive Activity
Consolidate knowledge of Year 3 place value concepts with an interactive 4-Digit Place Value Game.
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Place Value Charts
Practise place value knowledge up to 6 digits with these blank place value charts.
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Roll and Round Dice Game Set of 7 Rounding Games
Help your student refine their rounding skills with this set of 7 printable maths games.
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Rounding Numbers Cut and Paste - Worksheets
Provide your students with engaging practise to help them understand rounding with a set of differentiated rounding worksheets.
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Flip, Draw, Expand! - Place Value Worksheet (3-Digit Numbers)
A worksheet to use when consolidating understanding of place value to hundreds.
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Rounding Large Numbers Worksheet Set
Share this rounding large numbers worksheet set with your students so they can cut-and-paste their way to understanding rounding.
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Rounding to the Nearest Ten, Hundred and Thousand Worksheet
Review rounding concepts with a worksheet covering rounding to the nearest ten, hundred, and thousand.
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Rounding Numbers – Maths Mazes
Round numbers to various places while finding your way through this set of 5 maths mazes.
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Multiplying and Dividing by Powers of 10 Game
Play this multiplying and dividing by powers of 10 game to give students practice multiplying and dividing whole numbers by 10, 100 and 1000.
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Rounding Numbers Activity (Escape Room)
Play our rounding numbers activity in your classroom to engage students as they practise and extend their rounding and critical thinking skills.
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I Have, Who Has? – Place Value Games (2-Digit Numbers)
Reinforce your students understanding of 2-digit Place Value concepts with printable Place Value Games for Year 1 students.
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Number Ordering Worksheet Set (Dot-to-Dot)
Share these dot-to-dot number ordering worksheet sets with your students to give them an engaging way to practise ordering two and three-digit numbers.
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2-Digit Numbers in Expanded Form Worksheet
Explore two-digit numbers in standard form and expanded form with this set of two cut-and-paste style worksheets.
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Partitioning 3-Digit Numbers Matching Activity
Help children partition 3-digit numbers by identifying the place value of hundreds, tens, and ones with this matching activity.
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2-Digit Number of the Day Worksheet
A 2-digit place value worksheet to represent the number of the day in different ways.
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Number and Place Value Worksheets - Foundation
10 number and place value worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Rounding Activity (Warm-Up Teaching Slides)
Use this digital rounding activity to review rounding numbers to the tens, hundreds and thousands place.
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Number Order Puzzles (Ordering Numbers to 1200)
Give your students these number order puzzles for a fun way to sharpen their skills in ordering numbers up to 1200.
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Building 2-Digit Numbers Dice Game
Teach your students about place value in two-digit numbers with this engaging dice game featuring Base 10 blocks.
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Flip, Draw, Expand! - Place Value Worksheet (2-Digit Numbers)
A worksheet to use when consolidating understanding of 2-digit place value.
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4-Digit Place Value - Assessment
An open-ended worksheet to use when assessing your students' knowledge of place value to the thousands.
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I Have, Who Has? - Place Value Card Game (3-Digit Numbers)
Play an exciting I Have, Who Has? Place Value Game to help your students practise their skills with reading and writing three-digit numbers.
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Ordering Numbers Cut-and-Paste Worksheets
Give students our ordering numbers cut-and-paste worksheets for a fun way to practise ordering numbers 1 through 100.
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4-Digit Number Riddles Cut and Paste
Use these 4-digit number worksheets to help students practise matching numbers up to 10 000 with their word and expanded forms.
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3-Digit Number Forms Worksheet
Help students practise their knowledge of 3-digit numbers with this place value worksheet that covers MAB blocks, standard form, and expanded form.
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Maths Mazes (Place Value)
Determine the correct paths through each maze using knowledge of place value.
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Number and Place Value Worksheets - Year 4
14 number and place value worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Roll It, Make It, Expand It! - Place Value Worksheet
A worksheet for students to use when learning about the place value of two-digit numbers.
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Which Is More? Counting Card Game
Compare and order collections up to 20 with this set of counting cards.
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5-Digit Number of the Day Worksheet
A 5-digit place value worksheet to represent the number of the day in different ways.
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5-Digit Place Value Warm Up - Interactive PowerPoint
An engaging 44 slide interactive PowerPoint to use when learning about place value to 5-digits.
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How to Write 2-Digit and 3-Digit Numbers Worksheet
Explore how to represent number values in standard form, word form, expanded form, and picture form with this multipurpose place value worksheet.