Fun With Place Value

We are having so much fun with our giant magnetic foam place value blocks this year! I have to give a shout out to my teaching partner's son for having started making these on his mom's board after school, and giving us the inspiration for this great place value idea! This simple activity has my students so excited each morning.

If you don't yet have magnetic place value blocks I strongly suggest you put them on your wish list.  I have found them to be a wonderful tool when teaching place value to my second graders.  Once you have some you can add this fun activity to your morning routine.

Before the kids arrive I make some sort of creative figure with the magnets.  I confess, I find this to be quite fun to do! My students have calendar work each morning, and when they finish they try to calculate the value of my creation.

Then, I draw a place value chart on the board and we dismantle the creation. We sort the tens, ones, and hundreds.  We regroup if needed, and then check our answers. This is a super easy way to practice and have fun with place value and the kids love seeing what new creation is on the board each morning!
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