Today is rung 5 of 11 on this topic
Tens and ones to 100
Can do: Knows 47 is four tens and seven ones, and can build any two-digit number with bundles.
Why it matters
Place value is the idea that makes all later arithmetic possible. Every regrouping, decimal and column method assumes it is solid.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Reads 47 as "four, seven", or can chant tens and ones without being able to build 47 from objects.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"Show me 34 with these blocks." Then: "How many tens? How many ones?"
Solid looks like: Three groups of ten and four singles, built without counting to 34 one at a time.
The full activity for this topic · 10 minutes
Bundle It
- 1Count out fifty objects and bundle them into physical groups of ten.
- 2Call a number: "Make me 36." They grab three bundles and six loose.
- 3Ask which is bigger, 36 or 63, and make them prove it with the bundles.
- 4Break a bundle open and talk about what happened to the number — that's regrouping, previewed.
- 5Write each number down next to the bundles so the digits and the objects sit side by side.
If it's too hard
Stay under 30 and use pre-made ten-sticks.
If it's too easy
Add ten to any number instantly, and subtract ten, by adding or removing a bundle.
Say this
"How many bundles of ten? How many loose ones? That's what the two digits are telling you."