Place Value Teaching Resources
Browse place value charts, printable worksheets, games and more teaching resources created by teachers, for teachers like you.
This collection of curriculum-aligned and editable 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 math 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?
In math, 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, 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 math 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 3,245:
- 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 = 3,245.
Why Is Place Value Important?
Place value is an important concept for elementary 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 math 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 math concept is the place value chart! This visual teaching tool can be used to represent and organize numbers based on their value and position in a given number.
How to Use a Place Value Chart
A place value chart is typically divided into columns representing the different powers of 10 in our number system. Each column is labeled 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 corresponding 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.
Students can place a particular number in their place value chart, determine its value, and then figure out two-digit, three-digit, four-digit, and larger numbers.
To read a place value chart, students work their way left or right. For example, if you start from the "ones" place, you can go left one space to the "tens" place, then on to the "hundreds" place and so on. As students enter the intermediate grades, they begin to learn about numbers to the right of the decimal point (tenths, hundredths, thousandths, etc.).
Place Value vs. Face Value
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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Rounding Games for 4th Graders — Race Up the Rounding Ladder!
Challenge your students with one of our many rounding games for 4th graders — Race Up the Rounding Ladder!
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Rounding Numbers Activity (Escape Room)
Play our rounding numbers activity in your classroom to engage students as they practice and extend their rounding and critical thinking skills.
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Exploring 4-Digit Place Value PowerPoint
A 31-slide PowerPoint template to use when exploring place value to the thousands place.
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Exploring 3-Digit Place Value PowerPoint
Explore place value concepts related to 3-digit numbers with an engaging, interactive teaching slide deck.
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Place Value Spin Activity
Practice identifying the number of tens and ones in two-digit numbers with this fun spin activity.
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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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Flip, Draw, Expand! – Place Value Worksheet (5-Digit Numbers)
Build and expand 5-digit numbers using base-10 blocks to strengthen place value skills.
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Place Value Banner - Billions to Thousandths
A banner that displays extended place value.
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3-Digit Place Value Warm-Up - Interactive PowerPoint
An engaging 44-slide interactive PowerPoint to use when learning about place value to 3-digits.
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Roll It, Make It, Expand It! - Place Value Worksheet
A worksheet for students to use when learning to write two-digit numbers in expanded form.
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Exponents Activity — Tarsia Puzzle
Share this exponents activity with your students to give them practice evaluating exponent expressions in a fun puzzle format.
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Decimal Place Value Chart
Provide your students with our decimal place value chart to make comparing and ordering decimals a breeze!
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I Have, Who Has? - Place Value Games for 1st Graders (2-Digits)
Reinforce your students understanding of 2-digit Place Value concepts with printable Place Value Games for 1st graders.
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Caterpillar - Ordering Numbers Worksheets
Share these ordering numbers worksheets with your students to help them master sequencing numbers.
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4-Digit Place Value Game - Interactive Review Activity
Review a variety of 3rd Grade place value standards with an engaging Google Slides Interactive Game!
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Which Is More? Counting Card Game
Compare and order numbers to 20 with this set of counting cards.
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3-Digit Numbers Interactive Activity
Practice knowledge of 3-digit numbers with this interactive activity exploring standard form, expanded form, word form and base ten form.
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Number of the Day Worksheet
Explore 3, 4, 5, and 6-digit numbers using this number of the day worksheet with your students.
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Rounding on Number Lines - Interactive Mystery Picture
Karate chop those rounding standards with a fun Rounding on a Number Line Mystery Reveal activity.
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Goal Getters- Rounding to the Nearest Ten Worksheets
Score a goal and master rounding numbers on a number line with a soccer-themed rounding to the nearest ten worksheet.
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Vertical Number Line - Rounding Worksheets
Use a vertical number line to round whole numbers to the nearest ten, hundred, thousand, and ten thousand with a set of rounding worksheets.
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2-Digit Place Value Game - Interactive Slide Deck
Review various first-grade place value concepts with an interactive place value warmup.
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5th Grade Math Review – Test Prep Packet
Encourage your students to work through 8 pages of 5th-grade math problems while charting their progress to measure their success.
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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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Rounding to the Nearest Ten - Interactive Activity
Practice rounding two-digit numbers to the nearest tens place with this interactive Google Slides activity.
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Comparing Three-Digit Numbers – Worksheet
Practice comparing 3-digit numbers with this hands-on worksheet.
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Positive and Negative Numbers - Worksheet
A set of worksheets to use when learning about positive and negative numbers.
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Counting Collections in the Hundreds PowerPoint
A 15-page editable PowerPoint to use in the classroom when exploring efficient ways of counting collections in the hundreds.
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3-Digit Roll It, Make It, Expand It! - Place Value Worksheet
A worksheet for students to use when learning about the place value of three-digit numbers.
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Representing Two-Digit Numbers - Place Value Worksheet
A set of worksheets for students to use when learning about place value and the different way two-digit numbers can be represented.
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5-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 the ten thousands place.
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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.