Putting numbers in their place

Suma Vivekanandan

Many children have a misconception about place value. They get confused with place and place value of each digit in a number. The place value of every one-digit number is the same as and equal to its face value. In a two-digit number, the place value of the ten-place digit is 10 times of the digit. In a three-digit number, the place value of the hundred place digit is 100 times the digit. Children get confused and say or write the place as the place value.

Here is an activity which enables children to practice place value and read large numbers correctly.
• Divide the class into groups. Each group should have a different number of children – one group can consist of five students, another four, a third group can have three members, etc.
• Give a piece of paper to each member of the groups.
• Instruct them to write any one digit number (0 to 9) on the given paper. Ask them to make it bold so that everyone can read it.

• Now the teacher has to write the places on the blackboard/white board.

Ten thousand	Thousand	Hundred	Tens	ones

• Ask the students (group wise) to come forward and stand under the places on the black/white board in any order.

• The entire class can be asked to read the number. Here they understand that in a particular place if there is no digit (student), they have to read it as zero.
• The class can also be asked to say the place and place value of each digit.

Here the teacher can ask them to form a number having a particular place value of a digit. For example, in the photo the child who is holding “9” is standing in the lakh’s place. Now the teacher can ask the same group to form a number which has 9000. Children will begin to think how to rearrange the digits. They enjoy a lot and at the same time the place value concept is will become clear.

The same game can be modified and played to clear the concept of ascending and descending order along with forming the biggest and smallest number using the given digits only once.

• Ask the students to sit in the same group and form the biggest and smallest number using the digits they have.
• So they understand, if they have three digits, they can make only three digit numbers by arranging the digits in descending order to make the biggest number and in ascending order to make the smallest number.
• After arranging in their group, they can come forward and stand holding the cards in the proper places, near the board.

Teachers can make this activity more interesting by asking questions according to the cards the groups have. For example, a group with cards 9, 3 and 1 can be asked to
• Make a number which is greater than 100 and lesser than 300. So they have to think and form the number 139 or 193.
• Another question can be, how many three digit numbers can be made using these three digits? Allow them to arrange in all the possible ways – 139, 193, 391, 319, 931, 913.

Students really enjoy these kinds of activities. No costly kit is required for this activity. My class thoroughly enjoyed it.

The author is a mathematics teacher and primary school coordinator in Atul Vidyalaya, Atul, Gujarat. She can be reached at suma_vivekanandan@atulvidyalaya.ac.in.