Place value mat (free printable, ones to hundred thousands)

About this sheet

A place value mat is a work surface: students build a number with base ten blocks, counters or chips in the right columns, and then write what they built in the box under it. The columns are tall enough to hold a handful of blocks, and the boxes at the foot are for the digit, so the step from blocks to numeral is on the page. The names are editable, and the number of lines in the box sets the number of columns: three for hundreds, tens and ones, or six to reach the hundred thousands. Alternate headers are tinted. Slide the mat into a sleeve and it becomes a reusable dry-erase board.

Grades: 1 to 5. Best in: September, October, November, January.

How to use it

1. Type the column names, left to right, one per line. Two to six lines draw two to six columns.
2. Print on card stock or in a sleeve. Give each student or pair a mat and a bag of blocks, chips or counters.
3. Say a number, ask students to build it in the columns, and write the digit under each column. Then read it aloud together.

Five ideas for class

1. Build a number, then add one more to the ones column until it reaches ten, and trade ten ones for a ten in the next column to show regrouping.
2. Use chips with values on them, or draw dots with a marker, in the boxes and ask students to find the value of each column.
3. Ask a partner to write a number under the columns without showing the blocks, and have the other build it from the digits.
4. Make a number with the same digits in a different order, such as 253 and 352, and discuss what changed and what stayed.
5. Use a six-column mat for large numbers, and read them with the class, saying thousand at the right place.

Related

• Ten frames
• Blank hundreds grid
• Number bonds
• Place value chart
• Base-ten blocks