User Guide

Raise the stakes on your teaching of number sense and place value! Versatile

boards feature color-coded spaces to write in decimals on one side and

numbers on the reverse. The blank, color-coded place-value squares match

the color sequence of Learning Resources

Place Value Rods, inviting

students to engage in manipulative-based learning individually or in small

groups. What’s the holdup? Get your hands on these dazzling, double-sided

displays and start creating numbers today!

Note: Write on the boards with a dry- or wet-erase marker. Do not saturate

the boards with water or cleaning solution. This could warp the boards.

Fun Classroom Uses:

Mystery Digits—Divide the class into several small groups. Give each small

group one board. Think of a mystery number for the groups to solve on their

boards. For each digit of the mystery number, call out or write a “clue” on

the classroom whiteboard that describes where students should place the

digit (for example, put a 4 in the tens place, put an 8 in the hundreds place,

and so on). When you ﬁnish calling out clues, ask: “What number did we

make?” Have a volunteer from each group hold the board up to show the

answer and read the number properly! The numbers they have created are

now in standard form—the way we typically see numbers in everyday life.

Expanded Form to Standard Form—Expanded form shows the sum

of the values of each digit in a number. For example, the number 342 in

expanded form is 300 + 40 + 2. Show students the expanded form of this

number on the board. Then, have them write the corresponding number on

their answer boards. Encourage students to discover that 300 in this number

is represented by a 3 in the hundreds place, and so on. Continue to write

numbers in expanded form on the board, and have students show the same

numbers in standard form on their Place Value Answer Boards. Reading the

numbers in standard form aloud will reinforce their understanding.

Show expanded form with decimals also, such as in the number 2.56, whose

expanded form is written as 2 + .5 + .06. Write this number in expanded

form on the board, and have students use their Place Value Answer Boards

to write the number in standard form. Students should demonstrate their

understanding by writing a 2 in the ones place, a 5 in the tenths place, and

so on. Ask students to read their numbers aloud so you can assess their

understanding.