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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Double Digit Numbers Mystery Worksheet
Explore double digit place value with this fun clue based mystery worksheet for your students.
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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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Comparing Numbers-Halloween Word Problems
Practise comparing numbers using MAB blocks with a Halloween Maths word problem worksheet.
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Interactive PowerPoint - 2-Digit Place Value Game
Review various Year 1 place value concepts with an interactive place value warmup.
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Two-Digit Number Line - Differentiated Place Value Activities
Practise place value concepts, addition and subtraction, and using a number line with a differentiated place value activity.
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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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Flip, Draw, Expand! - Place Value Worksheet (5-Digit Numbers)
A worksheet to use when consolidating understanding of place value to tens of thousands.
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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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Number Talks - Building Numbers Task Cards
Build number sense skills with this set of 24 task cards.
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Expanded Notation Dominoes (4-Digit Numbers)
Use this set of dominoes when learning how to match 4-digit numbers written in standard form and expanded form.
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Numeral Expander - Tens of Thousands
A numeral expander template to use when exploring five-digit numbers.
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Two-Digit Place Value Bingo Game (Digits and MAB)
32 different bingo cards using place value to 99.
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Integers Polygon Puzzle
A puzzle using positive and negative numbers in number sentences.
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Exploring 5-Digit Place Value PowerPoint
A 38 slide PowerPoint template to use when exploring place value in the tens of thousands.
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Games for Rounding — 'Rounding Match-Up'
Explore games for rounding your students will love, like this 'Rounding Match-Up' activity!
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Rounding Numbers Game (Whole Numbers)
Play our engaging rounding numbers game in your classroom to give your students practise rounding whole numbers.
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Rounding With a Number Line Teaching Slides (Large Numbers)
Teach rounding with a number line using this set of teaching slides featuring numbers up the hundred thousands.
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Rounding on a Number Line Worksheet Set
Use our rounding on a number line worksheet set to give your students practise using a number line to round numbers up to the hundred thousands place.
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Rounding Numbers PPT — Rounding Roller Coaster Method
Present this roller coaster-themed rounding numbers PPT to your students to teach or review how to round large numbers.
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Place Value Review Game — "Place Value Prowl!"
Play this place value review game called “Place Value Prowl” to review place value up to the hundred thousands place.
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Caterpillar Worksheets on Ordering Numbers
Share these caterpillar worksheets on ordering numbers with your students to help them master sequencing numbers.
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Sequencing Activities — Numbers 1-9 Sausage Dog
Use our sequencing activities like this sausage dog to help your students practise ordering the numbers 1 - 9.
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Comparing and Ordering Numbers Game — Escape the Robot Invasion!
Play our comparing and ordering numbers game with your students to engage and educate at the same time.
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4-Digit Mystery Numbers Interactive Activity
Explore 4-digit numbers with this fun mystery-themed interactive activity .
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3-Digit Interactive Clip Cards
Practise knowledge of 3-Digit numbers with this interactive clip card resource.
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Reading and Writing Double Digit Numbers Interactive Activity
Get students practising their knowledge of converting standard form numbers to expanded form with this engaging interactive activity.
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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 Place Value Puzzles
Teach students the different representations of 2-digit numbers with this place value puzzle.
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Expanded Form Poster Set
Teach students what it looks like to expand 2-digit, 3-digit, 4-digit, 5-digit and 6-digit numbers with this set of classroom posters.
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Thousands Place Value Number Expander Template
Explore expanding 4 digit numbers with your students using this number expander template.
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4-Digit Expanded Form Worksheet
Help students grasp the concept of expanding 4-digit numbers up to 2,000 with this 1-page worksheet.
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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.