Place Value Activities

📝 This post about Place Value was originally published in 2015 and has been updated with new information and resources.

Someone once told me that place value is to math what letters are to spelling — and honestly, that one sentence changed the way I taught it forever. Once students understand that each digit has a different value depending on its place in a number, so much of math starts to click into place.

If you are looking for a deeper explanation of place value and why it matters, be sure to check out our Everything You Need to Know about Place Value: A Primer for Teachers and Parents. Once you have the basics down, come back here for games, crafts, and hands-on activities that make practicing place value fun!

Free Place Value Activities

Place Value Robots

Students create a robot using base ten blocks cut out from paper, then determine the value of their robot using hundreds, tens, and ones. This activity is such a fun way to combine creativity with math practice!
👉🏼 Download the FREE Place Value Robots activity here.

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Make Your Own Base Ten Blocks

Base ten block sets can be expensive, so why not make your own? This post explains how base-ten blocks work and includes examples of how to use them to solve math problems, especially double-digit addition and subtraction with regrouping. Grab the free template, print, and cut out your own set to use at home or in the classroom!
👉🏼 Download the FREE Base Ten Blocks template here.

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Place Value Parking Lot

Practice reading numbers using place value with this adorable parking lot activity! The spaces are labeled ones, tens, and hundreds, and the cars have numbers. Simply park your cards and read the number you “parked.”
👉🏼 Download the FREE Place Value Parking Lot here.

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Place Value Top-It Game

Cut out the cards and try to make a bigger — or smaller—number than your partner using place value. A simple, no-prep way to build place value fluency!
👉🏼 Download the FREE Place Value Top-It Game here.

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Expanding Numbers with Craft

Looking for another fun way to practice place value? Check out our Place Value Expanding Numbers activity. This activity helps students see how numbers can be broken apart and put back together, strengthening their understanding of place value.
👉🏼 Download the FREE Place Value Expanding Numbers Activity here.

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Place Value Games on TPT

Place Value Counting Strips

This hands-on tool is everything you need to teach place value, starting at 0 and going as high as students are ready for! Students really learn the value of each digit in each place, and the strips also show how and why regrouping works. A must-have for truly understanding place value!
👉🏼 Grab the Place Value Counting Strips on TPT here.

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Place Value Bingo

Students create their own bingo boards, then cover each number as it is called out. A fun twist on a classic game that gets students thinking about place value in a whole new way!
👉🏼 Grab Place Value Bingo on TPT here.

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Guess the Number Game

The teacher chooses a number and tells the group how many digits it has. Students then guess by asking questions like “Is there a 9 in the ones place?” or “Is there a 4 in the hundreds place?” This game is easy to differentiate — use smaller numbers with younger students and longer numbers with older students!
👉🏼 Grab the Place Value Guessing Game on TPT here.

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Place Value Pocket

Students build numbers using hundreds, tens, and ones while gaining a stronger understanding of how each digit contributes to a number’s value. This interactive place value tool is perfect for small groups, centers, or one-on-one instruction.
👉🏼 Grab the Place Value Pocket on TPT here

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Books About Place Value

Place Value by David A. Adler
You had better not monkey around when it comes to place value! The monkeys in this book bake the biggest banana cupcake ever, and getting the recipe amounts right matters — there is a big difference between 216 eggs and 621 eggs! With humorous art and clear explanations, this book makes place value approachable and fun.

A Fair Bear Share by Stuart J. Murphy
This story introduces grouping by tens, an important concept that helps students develop stronger place value understanding and prepares them for regrouping later on.

Penguin Place Value by Kathleen Stone
Help this happy family of penguins figure out how many fish they have caught using place value skills! A sweet and simple story for younger learners.

Place value is one of the most important math concepts students learn in the primary grades. Whether you use games, crafts, manipulatives, or picture books, giving students plenty of hands-on opportunities to explore place value helps build a strong foundation for future math success.

Which of these activities will you try first? Let us know in the comments below!