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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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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Rounding Rainbow Classroom Poster & Differentiated Worksheet Pack
Download a set of differentiated rounding worksheets and accompanying poster for your maths classroom.
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Rounding Whole Numbers Word Problem & Error Analysis Worksheet
Print a maths worksheet with variety of rounding word problems and error analysis challenges.
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Tens and Ones 2-Digit Place Value Mat
Build two-digit numbers and improve place value skills with a printable tens and ones math mat.
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Comparing Two Digit Numbers — Clash Game for Year 1
Practise comparing two-digit numbers with the help of this year 1 board game.
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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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Comparing Three-digit Numbers – Worksheet
Practise comparing three-digit numbers with this hands-on worksheet.
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Expanded Notation Dominoes (5-Digit Numbers)
Use this set of dominoes when learning how to match 5-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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Penny's Place Value Puzzle
A worksheet to use to consolidate student understanding of place value to the hundreds.
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Representing Large Numbers Worksheet
A worksheet connecting large numbers and words.
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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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4-Digit Place Value Card Game - Flip It!
A fun game for students to play in small groups to consolidate their understanding of place value to thousands.
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Dividing by Powers of 10 Worksheet Set
Utilise this dividing by powers of 10 worksheet set to give your students practise dividing whole numbers by 10, 100 and 1000.
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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 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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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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Ordering Numbers 1 - 20 Task Cards
Practise ordering numbers 1 - 20 using this engaging set of nature-themed task cards.
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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.
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4-Digit Number Poster Set
Display this set of posters to help students remember the processes for reading and writing numbers up to 10,000 using MABs, number names and expanded form.
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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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Ordering Numbers PowerPoint
Help your students understand the concept of number sequencing with an interactive instructional slide deck.
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Rounding on Number Lines Interactive Mystery Picture Activity
Karate chop those rounding standards with a fun Rounding on a Number Line Mystery Reveal 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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Number Talks - Near, Far, and in Between Task Cards
Build number sense skills with this set of 24 task cards.
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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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Exploring 4-Digit Place Value PowerPoint
A 31 slide PowerPoint template to use when exploring place value to thousands.
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I Have, Who Has? - Place Value Maths Game (5-Digit Numbers)
Use a 5-Digit Place Value Maths game to engage your students and practise identifying and reading five digit numbers.
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Rounding 6 Digit Numbers Game — Interactive Picture Reveal
Invite your students to play this rounding 6 digit numbers game to review rounding whole numbers up to the hundred thousands place.
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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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Expanded Notation Poster
Explore the world of expanded notation with a printable classroom poster that easily explains the concept for students!
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4-Digit Number Digital Game
Play a game show with your students to get them practising 4-digit numbers in standard form, expanded form, plus more!