What each digit is worth
In 352 the 3 is worth three hundred, not three. Seeing that, and writing it, is the base of adding and subtracting with bigger numbers, regrouping included. These sheets go from counting blocks to writing numbers in expanded form, one small step at a time.
Three tasks
- Blocks. Count the flats, rods and cubes, then write the number.
- Tens and ones. 47 = 4 tens 7 ones; 352 = 3 hundreds 5 tens 2 ones.
- Expanded form. 352 = 300 + 50 + 2.
Next steps
Once place value is secure, move on to two-digit addition andsubtraction with regrouping.
In the Australian Curriculum
- Year 1Partitioning one- and two-digit numbers in different ways, including into tens and ones (AC9M1N02).
- Year 2Partitioning, rearranging and regrouping two- and three-digit numbers, and ordering numbers to at least 1000.
- Year 3Ordering and representing numbers beyond 10 000, past the three digits this maker uses.
Australian classrooms often call base-ten blocks MAB, short for Multibase Arithmetic Blocks, with minis for ones, longs for tens and flats for hundreds. Using the same names on the sheet and on the mat helps children connect the two.
The curriculum asks for partitioning “in different ways”, not just the standard split. After 47 = 4 tens and 7 ones, ask aloud for another way: 3 tens and 17 ones. That idea is what makes trading in subtraction make sense later.
Summarised in our own words from the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics, Version 9.0 (ACARA).
