First graders have been working hard on place value. By definition, place value is the value of a digit depending on its position in the number, such as ones, tens, hundreds, or thousands.

"What does that mean?" you ask! When looking at a number, such as 526, first graders are able to break this number down based on what the digit in each place means. First graders would look at the number 526 and know that this number is made up of 5 groups of 100, 2 groups of 10, and 6 groups of 1. They have been exploring and learning about numbers up to the thousands place.

Having an understanding and background knowledge in place value is very important. They will revisit and use their place value knowledge when they learn about multi-digit addition (258 + 23) and subtraction (539 - 93). They also use this information to help them with reading numbers.

Through the use of manipulatives such as base-ten blocks, unifix cubes, place value mats, and hundreds charts, students are engaging in a variety of activities requiring them to build and break down numbers. First graders will be reading, writing, and comparing numbers into the thousands through the use of worksheets and games. They will also be working with numbers using standard notation and expanded notation. Several links found on the class blog such as IXL and ABCya provide online activities to support place value understanding.