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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3-Digit Number Expander Template (Bat)
Explore 3-digit numbers with this cute foldable bat number expander for your students.
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Number Forms Worksheet (Up to 5 Digits)
Help students practice recognising and writing numbers in word form and expanded form with this worksheet.
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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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Ordering Numbers Worksheets - Halloween Cut and Paste
Share these ordering numbers worksheets with your students for some spook-tacular Halloween fun!
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Using Greater Than - Less Than Symbols - Halloween Worksheet
Practise using the greater than, less than, and equal to symbols to compare two-digit numbers with a fun Halloween worksheet.
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2-Digit Number of the Day Warm-Up PowerPoint
Review various 2-digit maths concepts with a Number of the Day slide deck and recording sheet.
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Rounding Numbers Teaching Slides
Teach students how to round to the nearest ten and hundred with an interactive, explicit instructional teaching presentation.
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Number Line Bubble Drop - Ordering Activity
Practise ordering whole numbers on a number line with a fun ocean-themed interactive activity.
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Vertical Number Line - Rounding Worksheets
Use a vertical number line to round whole numbers to a given place with a set of rounding worksheets.
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Rounding Whole Numbers Word Problem Worksheet
Explore understanding of place value to round whole numbers to a given place with this printable maths worksheet.
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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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Rounding to the Nearest Ten - Interactive Activity
Practise rounding two-digit numbers to the nearest ten with this interactive Google Slides activity.
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Place Value Worksheets (Platypus Theme)
Practise expanded notation and writing numbers in words with the Place Value Platypus.
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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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I Have, Who Has – Rounding to 500 000
Use this engaging maths game to practise rounding numbers through 500 000 with your students.
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Number Talks - Comparing 2-Digit Numbers Task Cards
Practice comparing 2-digit numbers with this set of 24 task cards.
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Expanded Notation Dominoes (3-Digit Numbers)
Use this set of dominoes when learning how to match 3-digit numbers written in standard form and expanded form.
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Expanded Notation Dominoes (2-Digit Numbers)
Use this set of dominoes when learning how to match 2-digit numbers written in standard form and expanded form.
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Two-Digit Place Value Bingo Game (Digits and Pop Sticks)
32 different bingo cards using place value to 99.
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3-Digit Abacus Worksheets
A set of three worksheets for students to use when using an abacus to model and represent 3-digit numbers.
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5-Digit Place Value - Assessment
An open-ended worksheet to use when assessing your students' knowledge of place value to the tens of thousands.
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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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Index Notation Worksheet — Tarsia Puzzle
Share this index notation worksheet with your students to give them practice evaluating exponential expressions in a fun puzzle format.
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Money Place Value Chart Activity Set
‘Bank’ on this money place value chart activity set to make teaching decimal concepts a breeze!
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Place Value Cards - 10 000, 1000, 100, 10, 1
Explore and expand 4 and 5-digit numbers with a set pf printable place value cards and suggested activities for small group instruction.
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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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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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Number Maze Worksheet Set (Ordering Numbers to 120)
Share this number maze worksheet set with your students for a fun way to practise ordering numbers to 120 from least to greatest.
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Rounding Poster and Worksheet Set (Rounding Rock)
Display this rounding poster of the “Rounding Rock” in your classroom to encourage your students to rock out rounding!
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Ordering 2-Digit Numbers Interactive Task Cards
Download our Ordering 2-Digit Numbers Interactive Task Cards for an engaging way to practise ordering numbers up to 120.
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Ordering Integers Activity — Task Cards
Introduce this ordering integers activity to your students to give them experience ordering positive and negative numbers.
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Place Value Spin Activity
Practise identifying the number of 'tens' and 'ones' in two-digit numbers with this fun spin activity.