Teaching Place Value and Number

Teaching Place Value and Number Sense With a Magnetic Number Board

Activities to Teach Number Sense 1 to 100 Using a Number Board

Number Matching ---

              A tactile number board like this one is great for young learners who like to fidget with things. The very first activity I had my daughter do was take all of the number magnets off the board, and then match them back up to the printed number size. Then, we would go through and count to 100,   pointing to each numeral as we counted.

Number Recognition ---

              Once we were proficient at number  matching, we came up with a new game in which we put all the magnets loose in the box, and I would pull them out one at a time. She would have to identify the number before putting the magnet in its place on the board. This takes a while, so you may not get through every number, but it is good practice even if you only get through some of them.

Base Ten and Place Value ---

           The numbers are all in nice rows of ten. You can talk about how each end column represents  another “ten” block, and each 

number in between are “ones” blocks. You can then ask them to deconstruct the number on paper to show how many groups of tens and how many ones you need to get a certain number.

Skip Counting ---

           I love doing skip counting with this number board. I simply put some numbers on the blank grid, and leave others blank. For example, if I want my child to count by two’s, I’ll leave all the 2’s, 4’s, 6’s, 8’s, and 10’s columns blank but still put the other magnets. I’ll have her either write in or find the other magnets to fill in the missing spots, and count out loud by two’s. You can do the same to teach counting by five, ten, and so on. To teach skip counting, I have had her take certain magnets 

and lined them up on the refrigerator as well.

Addition and Subtraction ---

          When teaching addition and subtraction to we initially used first counters, and then a number line. We reinforced those strategies with looking at the board and modeling addition or subtraction problems. We would start on a number and count up or down, depending on the problem. When doing addition and subtraction higher than 10, this board is great 

for visualizing problems and thinking in terms of 10. For the problem 30 minus 21, for example, you can have them start on the number 30 with their finger, count two groups of ten backwards, and then one “one” backwards. They will see that thinking in these terms is quicker than counting 21 individual squares backwards.

Graphing ---

            The blank grid side is useful for graphing. We have done activities such as going outside and counting how many white, pink, and yellow flowers we saw, and then creating a graph. You can create bar graphs or line graphs, and discuss the results.

Percentages ---

           We have not yet gotten to this yet except for at a very high level, but this board could be great for modeling percentages. You can have kids pick a spot on the board, and write that number as percentage on a separate piece of paper while referencing the 100 board as “100%.”

Educational Insights Foam Magnetic Numbers 

with Board

          The Educational Insights Magnetic 100 Board is a 10” by 10” two-sided board with 100 squares on each side. On one side, all of the numbers are printed from one to 100. On the other, there are simply 100 blank squares. Both sides have a dry erase surface, which will work with either dry erase or washable markers. There are 100 square magnets included—numbers one through 100. Each number piece is made up of a piece of red foam about ¼” thick, glued on to a thin magnet the same size as the foam square. The board has a hook on the non-numbered side. Pros There are a lot of great things about this magnetic 100 board. 

Some things I really like about it are :

• Versatility—Even kids who don’t know numbers can still match magnets to their corresponding place on the board, while older kids can do more advanced activities

• Double - sided surface

• Dry erase ability

• The feel of the magnets 

• Its size—it fits nicely on my daughter’s lap, on a table, or on a mini desk Cons Every product has some drawbacks and areas that could be improved. 

A few things I would change about this board are:

• The surface of each magnetic number cube—after a while, the ink on the numbers starts to fade

• Add a hook to both sides for more versatility

• Include a dry erase marker with the product

• Add a carrying case, or improve packaging—after 

two uses the box was already worn out

           Cleanup is a bit of a hassle. I like to have the board put away with all 100 magnets in order, and that sometimes means me putting them back myself because my daughter is already tired from whatever activity we were working on. It is also a good thing that it takes a few minutes to put the numbers on the board, though. If the child is doing it, it gives them more time looking at each number and at 100 as a whole.