📝 This post, “Place Value Flip Book,” was originally published in 2012 and has been updated with new information and resources.

Place Value Flip Book

I will be honest — my son was nowhere near ready for place value. The kid was still working on counting correctly past “eleventeen”! But that did not stop us from having a blast with our Place Value Flip Book.

This interactive place value flip book helps kids read and build numbers by physically flipping and manipulating the digits within a number, which makes the whole concept click in a way that staring at numbers on a worksheet never could. Watching him see, with his own eyes, how a digit’s value changed just by moving it to a different spot? That was the good stuff.

Whether you are introducing place value for the first time or giving students extra hands-on practice, this flip book is such a fun way to build number sense.

If you want a bigger picture of how to teach place value, including what place value is, why it matters, and more hands-on practice ideas, be sure to check out my post, Everything You Need to Know About Place Value: A Primer for Teachers and Parents.

What Kids Learn with a Place Value Flip Book

This place value flip book helps students:

✔️ Understand the value of each digit in a number

✔️ Visualize place value through hands-on practice

✔️ See how a digit’s value changes based on its position

✔️ Stay engaged with an interactive learning tool

✔️ Practice reading, building, and changing numbers

✔️ Easily assemble the flip book with clear directions included

Fun Ways to Use a Place Value Flip Book

Once you put the flip book together, there are so many ways to use it! Here are some of our favorites.

Make Big Numbers

My son loved making giant numbers and then having his dad and me read them aloud. The bigger the number, the better! This is a fun way to practice reading larger numbers and noticing how each digit changes the value of the whole number.

Make Simple Numbers

This is a great starting point for kids who are learning to read and build double-digit numbers. Create simple numbers together and practice saying them aloud. It is also a nice activity for beginning counters who are still getting comfortable with number order.

Count Forward

We usually started with all zeros and counted up one number at a time, beginning in the ones place. When we got to 9, I made a BIG deal about what happened next. I was once told by a fantastic math teacher that exaggeration is the key to teaching young kids math — and do you know what? It works!

I said something dramatic like, “Oh no! We are out of numbers. That’s it! We can’t go on!” My son was always quick to correct me: “Yes, we can! There are more numbers!”

That was the perfect opening to talk about what happened next. We left the 0 in the ones place, flipped to 1 in the tens place, and kept counting. It was such a simple but powerful way to show how our number system works.

Count Backward

Start at any number and count backward as you flip the digits down. This is a great way to practice counting back while also strengthening understanding of place value.

Skip Count

Use the flip book to skip count by changing just one place at a time. For example, make the number 10 and then count by tens as you flip the tens place: 10, 20, 30, 40, and so on.

You can also start with other numbers:

* 6, 16, 26, 36 to skip count by 10s

* 4, 104, 204, 304 to skip count by 100s

This helps kids see patterns and understand how changing a single digit affects the value of a number.

Say It Game

This game is great for helping kids connect number words to place value.

Tell your child how many ones, tens, hundreds, and so on to use, and have them build the number in the flip book. For example, you might say:

“This number has 5 ones and 3 tens.”

Your child would put a 5 in the ones place and a 3 in the tens place to make the number **35**.

Place Value Guess My Number

Think of a number and keep it secret. Your child asks yes-or-no questions to figure it out.

For example:

* “Is there a 5 in the ones place?”

* “Is there an 8 in the tens place?”

If the guess is correct, flip that digit into place. Keep going until your child figures out the whole number. Then switch roles and let your child create a number for you to guess.

This one is definitely more challenging, so I would save it for kids who already have a solid understanding of place value.

Why I Love This Place Value Activity

Whether your child is just learning to count or is ready for a challenge like Place Value Guess My Number, this little flip book has earned its keep around our house. We used it way more than I ever expected to!

Ready to try this hands-on place value activity with your students? You can grab my Place Value Flip Book in my TpT store and start using it right away.

Looking for more ways to teach place value? Be sure to check out my collection of **place value activities for kids** for even more hands-on ideas, printables, and math practice.