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The Brown Bag Teacher

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Place Value: 1st Grade Centers

1st Grade math is the best. It’s hands-on, it’s game-based, and it’s fun. Using a guided math model, it allows the freedom for me to tailor lessons to each of my learners. We’ve started learning about place value and I wanted to share with you some of our favorite games, centers, and mini-lessons. Even after our Place Value unit ends, these centers will spiral review our learning throughout the year!

Place Value is a really hard unit to start the 1st grade year with. Last year, we didn’t teach this unit until February but with changes in District Common Assessments, we are teaching it in August/September. In Kindergarten the Common Core asks students to work to 10 but they never recognize 10 ones as a single unit. So, entering 1st grade, this is a huge transition. So, before launching our Place Value unit, our 1st grade team did slip-in some work with the 120s chart. (You can read more about that here.)
Our first week in Place Value was all about hands-on manipulatives. This was my students’ first experience with rods and pieces, so it was a mess. Students had the chance to explore and play. Yes, those are pieces everywhere and yes that is a house. #firstgradeyall  After exploring the base ten pieces, we compared rods and ones. After many, many, many lines of pieces, we discovered that ten pieces/ones were the same as a rod/ten!
We also rocked it old-school with our classroom abacus. My students see a “number rack” on DreamBox (a district math program) but I had never taught using one. Friends, MIND BLOWING! It has been the best manipulative for hands-on ways of learning for number sense. We’ve been making numbers (initially counting one bead at a time and then, eventually making the transition to tens/rows) and counting numbers like whoa! It’s been so fun to watch friends go from moving 99 beads to one side to decide to shake all 100 beads to one side and then moving one over. Number efficiency is starting to become important to us!
Continuing to making numbers, we have pulled out our Place Value spinners. Groups have been spinning base-ten pieces, making the pieces, identifying the numbers, and breaking the numbers into tens and ones.
We also loved using Fun in First’s ‘Perfect Partner’ cards to play Stand Up, Hand Up, Pair Up. It’s one of our favorite Kagan Structures and it’s a perfect way to assign new names for the day! (Read more about Stand Up, Hand Up, Pair Up here and read more about Name Changes here)
Pulling out our 100’s chart, we love playing “I’m Thinking of a Number” This is a perfect hands-on way to get students thinking of numbers in a group. I start the activity saying “I’m thinking of a number that has 6 tens and 5 ones.” The student who finds my number then challenges the group to find his/her own number. Students keep whiteboards in their laps and draw/write each number as we find it on the floor chart!
We’ve also been rolling, building, and naming numbers. My lowest group of friends has been rolling, making, and naming numbers. My on-level group has also been identifying the tens and ones in each numbers, and my above-level group is using place value in the hundreds.

The 120’s chart is also a great tool for practicing number sense, place value, and expanded form. When students place numbers on the 120’s chart, they are learning to notice patterns on the 120s chart. Throughout the first semester, this is a continuous center in our math rotations. As students become faster in completing the chart (many times it initially takes 25-30 minutes to complete the chart, while only 10-12 minutes when they have mastered the patterns/skill). Students ‘level-up’ as they work with the chart.

Initially I only use the number cards (1-120) for all 3 of my math groups. Students pull a number and then, place it in its home. Many students will individually count each square on the 120s chart until they find the desired home. Eventually, students will discover ‘tricks’ for finding the number’s home – counting by tens, noticing the number’s relationship to other numbers in the 120s chart, etc.

After students are successful using the number cards, I introduce the Place Value cards. These place value cards are perfect for practice counting tens and ones. Next, I introduce the tens/ones cards for the numbers (1 ten 8 ones). Finally, students use the expanded form of each number to place it on the chart (30 + 8).

We’re also using Place Value Path by The Measured Mama in centers. She has already included 3 differentiated board games, so it’s perfect for all my math groups. I copy the boards on different colors of card stock (yellow, blue, green) and they are ready to go!

Throughout the unit, we have also been comparing and ordering numbers (more on this later). My friends seemed to fly through comparing numbers but really struggled ordering numbers least-to-greatest and greatest-to-least. To help scaffold some of my most struggling learners, We pulled out the 120s chart and the EXPO markers. Students pulled 4 numbers from a bag (we initially started with 2) circling them on the 120s chart. Then, students drew the base-ten pieces and finally, we ordered the numbers. Coupling the chart with the base-ten drawings, it seemed like the just-right intervention.
Capping off our unit, Sgt. W visited our classroom for Place Value Bootcamp. PVB is a high-energy content-filled day. You can read more about Bootcamp here. If you have a day, it’s completely worth it!
Well friends, even with all the games and hands-on learning Place Value in August/September really isn’t my favorite..but our team made it work! I would love to hear what your go-to Place Value centers and mini-lessons are. I’m always looking for spiral-review centers and would love to hear what works for your friends! Until then, sign-up here for Guided Math ideas and freebies to land in your inbox every month. Happy teaching, friends.

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  1. Toya says

    Hello Catherine, I was doing some research the other day and came across your site, wonderful by the way. I realize that you no longer teach 5th grade at this time; however, I would like to know how you used socrative to set up your center work. I purchase many of the centers you used in your literacy centers for big kids post and want to know how i can hold my students accountable for their center work. Any information given would be great thanks

    Reply

  2. Karen Van Fossen says

    Hi, Thanks for all of the ideas. I was moved from K to 1st this year and sometimes its like my 1st year all over a gain (15 years later). We are just finishing Numbers and Operations and will be starting Place Value on Monday. Do you do mainly whole group or small groups or both for math? Thanks for sharing. Karen

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