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Place Value Worksheets: Tens and Ones

13 free PDFsUS Letter or A4Answer key includedNo login

Tens and ones with clear base-ten blocks: make a ten, teen numbers, count the tens, read and draw two-digit numbers, and count blocks to 120.

Download the place value worksheets

Tens and ones chart and making a ten

Count tens and ones in base-ten blocks

Draw and write numbers in different ways

Cut and paste (with a no-cut twin)

Challenge: count blocks to 120

Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.

About these place value worksheets

Place value is the big idea of 1st grade math: the 4 in 47 means 4 tens, and the 7 means 7 ones. Children who see that can count past 100, compare numbers, and add two-digit numbers without guessing.

These pages build the idea one step at a time. Children circle ten loose cubes to make a ten, write teen numbers as one ten and some ones, and count rods to see that 30 is 3 tens and 0 ones. Then they count tens and ones in pictures of base-ten blocks, draw numbers with quick lines and dots, and write each number three ways: 47, 4 tens 7 ones, and 40 + 7.

Every block picture is drawn to scale, with each ten rod marked into ten cubes so children can check by counting. "Which Number Is It?" puts the classic mix-up in front of them (46 or 64?), and a cut-and-paste page has a no-cut twin with a number bank. Every page with right answers has an answer key on page 2.

Standards

  • CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.NBT.B.2Understand that the two digits of a two-digit number represent amounts of tens and ones. Understand the following as special cases:
  • CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.NBT.B.2.A10 can be thought of as a bundle of ten ones — called a "ten."
  • CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.NBT.B.2.BThe numbers from 11 to 19 are composed of a ten and one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine ones.
  • CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.NBT.B.2.CThe numbers 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 refer to one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine tens (and 0 ones).
  • CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.NBT.A.1Count to 120, starting at any number less than 120. In this range, read and write numerals and represent a number of objects with a written numeral.

How to use them

  1. Start with real objects. Have your child count out ten cubes, beans or straws and bundle them with a rubber band or cup. Say together, "Ten ones make one ten." Then use the chart.
  2. On block pictures, have your child count the tens first by tens (10, 20, 30) and then count on the ones (31, 32, 33).
  3. Use "Draw Tens and Ones" for quick checks: a line for each ten and a dot for each one is fast to draw and easy to correct.
  4. Do "Which Number Is It?" out loud. Ask, "How do you know it is 46 and not 64?" The answer you want is "4 tens and 6 ones."
  5. Save "Count Blocks to 120" for children who are ready. A flat is ten tens, so 113 is a flat, one ten and three ones.

Teaching tips

  • If your child writes 61 for 1 ten and 6 ones, point to the tens box and say, "The tens come first, just like we read them."
  • Teen numbers sound backward: we say "sixteen" but write the 1 first. Point out that the 1 in 16 is one ten.
  • Zero matters. 30 has 3 tens and 0 ones; the 0 holds the ones place so the 3 stays a ten.
  • Children who lose count of cubes can tap each one or cross it off lightly in pencil.
  • Print at actual size (100%). The blocks stay crisp on any printer.

Questions teachers and parents ask

What is place value in 1st grade?

It is knowing that the digits of a two-digit number stand for tens and ones. In 52, the 5 means 5 tens (50) and the 2 means 2 ones. First graders also learn that 10 is a bundle of ten ones and that teen numbers are one ten and some ones.

What are base-ten blocks?

They are counting blocks: a small cube is one, a rod of ten cubes is a ten, and a flat of ten rods is a hundred. Our pages draw them clearly, with every rod marked into ten cubes so children can count to check.

Why does my child write 41 for 14?

Teen number names say the ones first (four-teen), so children often write them backward. Showing 14 as one ten rod and four cubes, then writing the tens digit first, fixes it for most children.

Do the place value worksheets have answer keys?

Yes. Every page with right answers has an answer key on page 2 of the same PDF. The chart is a reference page and has no key.

Is there a cut and paste place value page?

Yes. "Cut and Paste Tens and Ones" has number cards to cut and glue under block pictures. Its twin, "Tens and Ones Number Bank," uses the same pictures with a number bank, so children who can't cut can do the same work.