Help Your Kids Learn Large Numbers With A Place Value Game Printable
Grab this free place value game printable to help your students learn about large numbers, comparing large numbers, and correctly saying large numbers.
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Place Value.
It is an essential part of any math program.
It is what allows children to develop number sense. To be able to perform mental math, and be successful mathematicians.
Place value may seem like common sense, and a great place to skim by….but take it from a child that never understood math….place value is not common sense. And the rewards of helping children really understand it are immeasurable.
This game is just one of many ways to help children begin understanding large numbers.
Get all my large number place value activities in one easy download.
Before the Game:
Place value work in a major part of our math curriculum. We do a lot of mental math, which consists of adding tens and then adding our ones. We are on the hundreds chart consistently and we use base ten blocks at least once a week.
Needless to say, my boys are very aware that 23 is 2 tens and 3 ones. So as we moved toward larger numbers, it was just a matter of learning what each place value stood for.
(If you haven’t built this background knowledge you may want to check out Free Place Value printables by the Measured Mom or Base Ten Games by This Reading Mama.)
After I introduced the fact that the 2 in 23,567 was the same as 20,000, we read some books to help them actually visualize how big a 20,000 is or what a million looks like. We personally loved How Big is A Million and How Much is a Million. If you want some other books Math Geek Mama has a great list.
Once all that groundwork had been laid, it was time for a place value game printable.
Prep and Materials You Need for Place Value Game Printable
This is an incredible low prep game with only a few materials needed.
- Print off houses on card stock and laminate…tape the houses together.
- Gather up a deck of cards that has the everything removed except for the numbers 2 – 9. We use Rook Cards for games like these. The numbers are large and you don’t have the hearts, clubs, etc as a distraction.
Hasbro Rook Card Game
Neenah Bright White Cardstock, 8.5”x11”, 65lb/176 gsm, Bright White, 75 Sheets (90905)AmazonBasics Thermal Laminator
How to Play
- Pass out a card to each player.
- Each player decides where they would like to place their card – once the card is placed it may not be moved.
- Continuing passing out cards until every place value space is filled in
- Have each player read their number aloud.
- Have player look at each others game boards and order them from largest to smallest. The player with the largest number wins.
How it went for us
When we first began playing, we started without the millions place value. It was a great introduction, and a lot more manageable for my five-year-old that wanted to play too.
Even though he is in kindergarten, I still let him play games with his older brother. I help when he needs extra support, but he often amazes me at what he is able to understand and do.
This game was no exception. He easily figured out that lower numbers should be placed in the first “house”, while the higher numbers go in the thousands house.
With a little support from big Bro….he was able to tell which number was the winner (the highest number) and is even getting quite good at saying the number correctly.
My boys thoroughly enjoyed this place value game. I loved that they were having fun while they practiced making large numbers, comparing numbers, saying large numbers, and developing a better understanding of place value.
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