For students who need extra practice learing place values, or who need to understand the concept in a new way, try making these place value foam cups. Mrs. Shepherd at My Second Grade Journal made her cups by writing the numbers 0-9 on the outer rims. Then she wrote two zeros and a plus sign after each number on the cup for the hundreds place, one zero and a plus sign after each number on the cup for the tens and nothing on the ones cup. This way students can pull out the cups to reveal the expanded notation.
These cups would be a fun homework assignment to practice with parents. They would also make a purposeful fidget tool for those who need lessons to be a bit more hands-on.
Students can pair up to quiz each other, taking turns passing the cups back and forth while one asks questions about place value. Students can also use these cups to help them when filling out math problems at home.
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