Place Value Battleship

This idea comes from Two Sisters that Teach! Kids get a number grid with the different place values and a page to create their secret number. First, they come up with a number and write it in the boxes (shown above). Then, they take turns asking each other questions.

Example: 
Do you have 7 tens?
Is your number in the hundreds place greater than 2?

If they guess correctly, they got a "hit!" So, they circle the number on their grid. If their guess was incorrect, they make an x through the number on the grid. The first one to figure out their opponent's number wins!

Click here for a printable!
For more battleship fun using a 100 grid click here!

Place Value Hopscotch

Create a place value hopscotch with sidewalk chalk! (You can include higher values or decimals as well). One player hops and the other watches and figures out the number. 

Ex: 823,005
The player hops 5 times on the 1
0 times on the 10 and 100
3 times on the 1,000
2 times on the 10, 000
8 times on the 100,000
The other player must watch closely, so he can figure out the number. Then, he writes the numeral on the pavement.

After kids take turns hopping a couple times, have them compare the numerals they made. Which number is the largest? Who created the smallest number? Can they point out the odd and even numbers they created?

Race to 100

Race to 100 is inspired by the game Poison! Race to 100 from Love 2 Learn 2 Day! Kids get a 100 grid. Ones and tens pieces remain in between the 2 players. Kids take turns rolling 2 dice, the special place value die and a regular die. The regular die determines how many ones or tens they get. For example, a kid might roll a 3 and the place value die lands on tens. The player takes 3 tens and covers his board. If the place value die lands on lose turn, the player loses his turn! :( If it lands on start over, the player must clear his board and start over! :( The goal is to be the first to cover the 100 board! Players can't go over or be slightly under 100. They have to make exactly 100!

You can print the die and 100 grid here. For the ones and tens, print extra copies of the 100 grid and cut apart to create the playing pieces. For a colorful game, print on different colors of cardstock paper.

Find Your Family

Place Value
Numerals - Pass out numbers and have kids find their family! (example above: members have 5 tens) Once they have all of their members, they line themselves up in order. Then, the whole class problem solves and works together to create one long line of numbers in the correct order. (You could also write numbers in expanded form.)

Word Families - example: all the -ops are members of a family (bop, cop, hop, mop, pop)

So that's how you say...

I discovered this awesome tool from Love 2 Learn 2 Day! Kids will have a blast with the Big Number word calculator on Math Cats! They type in a super long number. Then, they learn how to say it! 

Marshmallow Kebab Math

Fraction Kebab: Create a marshmallow kebab of fractions! Grab a bag of mini colored marshmallows and have kids stab them onto a wooden skewer. Then, they figure out the fraction for each color. Afterwards, make a graph to represent which color was the most popular.

Place Value Kebab: Don't tell your students what each marshmallow color is worth. Have them choose their marshmallow colors and stab them on their skewer. Then, write the value for each color on the board and have them figure out their number. Is their number even or odd? Who had the largest number? Whose number was the smallest? Did anyone have the same number?

For more marshmallow learning games, check out Marshmallows 101!

Note: You could substitute fruit for marshmallows for a healthier kebab

Ten Frame Train

Explore ten frames and place value by creating a paper ten frame train. Kids construct a train out of construction paper. Then, they glue ten frames on the box cars, except for the caboose. They add "passengers" to each frame (sponge paint). Then, they figure out the number of passengers and write it on the caboose.

Pencil Top Place Value

Practice place value by stamping pencil tops (ink pad or paint), creating a place value abacus!

Hello my name is...

This activity was inspired by Mrs. Bremer's Kindergarten's Hello My Name is: letter / number / sight word recognition.

Kids go around the room, figuring out the standard form of each of their peers' numbers. They record their answers on paper next to their classmates' names. Once all numbers are figured out, have kids find the largest and smallest number. Can they identify which ones are even or odd?

You can practice any concept on a name tag: addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. Have kids write a number sentence on their name tag. Then, they go around the room and solve each equation using a list of their classmates' names. 

Kids can also work on parts of speech. Each kid has a word on their name tag. Kids have to organize themselves in the correct group. Do they have a noun, verb, or adjective?

Synonyms / antonyms, compound words, or homophones: Have kids find their match!

Place Value Necklace

Write down numbers and toss them in a paper brown lunch bag. Have students pull a number out (no peeking!). Next, they create a necklace to represent their number using Froot Loops Cereal and Pasta. Tell kids to keep their number a secret! Once everyone has their necklace constructed, instead of reading the room, they read each other! Give each student a list with their classmates' names on. Next to the names make a line for kids to write down their peers' numbers.

When kids are finished, have them find the largest and smallest number. Then, have them draw a red checkmark next to the even numbers and a blue checkmark next to the odd numbers. (Example left)

Place Value Slider

Create a place value slider: DIY teaching tool from Tattling to the Teacher! All you need are paint chips (gradient strips). Cut a square out of the center of each color and label the place value. Cut out a piece of cardstock or construction paper for the back. Staple the left and right edge of your paint chip to the heavy paper backing. After you staple the edges, staple the side of each color to create pockets for your number strips (see image below). Next, create rectangular strips of numbers 0-9 for each place value. Then, insert your strips, slide them, and create a number!

Note: For older students, you can attach multiple paint chips to create larger numbers or to incorporate decimals. 

SWAT!

swatter via nytimes

Using a fly swatter, kids try to swat and capture matching flies. Example above: swatter is looking for the number 9. There are six flies that represent the number 9. Click here for a free printable!

Place Value Town

Game - Who can get the most visitors to Place Value Town?
Create a town out of construction paper or blocks with three recreational spots to represent each place value. Use matchbox cars or paper cars for the numbers (0-9). Kids roll a die. Then, park the number car next to the building. The winner is the player that had the most visitors!

Chopsticks!

Place Value Game, inspired by Chopsticks Math: Counting. For a math station, set out 2 paper plates with different colored swedish fish laid on them. Each color represents a value. 
Red = Thousands
Green = Hundreds
Orange = Tens
Yellow = Ones
About ten feet (or more, depending on room size) directly across from the plates with gummies, set out 2 more paper plates. Each player gets a plate of fish and an empty plate. Kids have to use chopsticks and quickly transfer their swedish fish to the empty plate, without dropping any! If they drop a fish, they must return it back to the fish filled plate and start over. The goal is to create the highest number. Therefore, they will want to go for the highest value fish first. When time is up, they figure out their number (example below). The kid with the highest number wins! So, even if one kid had more fish, it doesn't necessarily mean he or she will win. One child might have 9 yellow fish (9). While his opponent only has a total of 2 fish: 1 red and 1 green (1,100). The number 1,100 is much larger than 9! 

Dinosaur Place Value

Stomp, Hop, and Chomp from OER! Call out a number and kids reply back with sound and movements!
Stomp = Ones
Hop = Tens
For example, you say the number 29. Kids hop two times and stomp with one foot 9 times.

Once they get the hang of it, compare numbers with a dinosaur chomp! Write two numbers on the board. Kids point their body towards the number that is greater and chomp (arms extended out, clamp together).

For another educational movement activity, check out Kung Fu Punctuation!

How Old Are You?!

Explore place value using the real world application of age! Students will get a kick out of seeing their age in months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds! 

Visit Math Cats to figure out exactly how old you are!

Example

Born July 22, 2004
Current day and time: December 18, 2012 / 3:28pm

8 years old

100 months old

438 weeks old

3,071 days old

73,719 hours old

4,423,154 minutes old

and you're aging by the second!

High / Low

Work on number sense with the classic game High, Low. Select a specific range of numbers to work with, such as 1-50 (featured above). For older kids, you can include negative numbers. One child is chosen to be "it." He / she chooses a number and keeps it a secret! Peers take turns guessing the numeral. The person who is it writes the number each person guessed under high or low. They write it under high, if the guess is greater than the number. They write it under low, if the number guessed is less than their number. Whoever guesses the secret numeral first wins! 

40 > 39 > 38

Place Value Diner

Place Value Burger

Kids construct a burger - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ztfmp9-KqsbIE2khPH2iaCrjiFOkyb09/view?usp=sharing

photo credit: culinary schools: kids

Place Value Pizza

Construct a pizza that showcases different number forms! Visit 2nd Grade Ponderings for a free printable.

Place Value Fries

Get a french fry container for each place value you're working with. Kids stick yellow popsicle sticks in each fry box. Then, they write down their number. Click here to see a couple more french fry ideas (and get a visual).

Place Value Ice Cream

Add a sweet treat to your diner - Pitner's Potpourri

Roll Bundle Win!

Workers at the diner can create bundles of straws for the diner! Click here for details!

Make soda jerker hats for kids to sport while playing these activities!

Cut 2 strips of construction paper and staple 2 of the ends together. Then, take two sheets of tissue paper. Glue the bottom edge of the tissue paper along the backside of the paper head band (middle of the band to the top edge of the construction paper strip. Once dry, fit the band on the child's head. The tissue paper should stand straight up! This is really funny looking!!! Finally, tuck the tissue paper down, shape and tape! After you shape it, you will have an authentic looking soda jerker hat!

(Note these hats can also be shaped to look like a chef hat.)

If you know of any more place value games that could fit into a diner theme, let me know!

Number Guess Who and Battleship

Number Guess Who - 2 player game: Kids choose a number off of a hundred chart. Then, they take turns asking each other clues to figure out their opponent's number. 

Clue Examples: 
Is it 10 more than _____, 10 less than _____, 1 more than _____, 1 less than _____?
Is the sum of its numbers _____?
Does it have a number in the hundreds place (tens place or ones place)?
Is it even or odd?
Is it half of _____?

Kids cross out numbers on their board, as they get closer to figuring out their opponent's number. The first one to figure out the other player's mystery number wins! (Flash card featured is from Mr. Printables - click here to download a free set!)

Number Battleship - Like Number Guess Who, but kids choose 10 numbers. Each player needs 2 hundred charts (one with his numbers covered and one to mark off his hits and misses). When a player guesses a correct number, his opponent gives him the token that was covering the number. The first player to collect all of his opponent's tokens first (and clear the opponent's board) wins!

Number Neighborhood

Improve number sense by making a number neighborhood by Mango Math! Kids write a number in the center circle. Then, they figure out their number's neighbors! For an added twist, have kids write numbers in different colors to represent different houses. They can even add green grass or a blue community pool if they'd like!

Also, check out "Adding Next Door Neighbors" from BEAM.