Place Value Maths Question

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Does anyone have a good way to explain digits to a five year old? My dd insists that two hundred and one is written 2001. I cannot convince her otherwise and I'm not sure how to bring it up to her teacher. Shouldn't she know that it's 201 by this age?

I draw a place value grid with the values clearly written at the top of each column.

The child can see the value of any written number by writing it into the grid.

Sorry I'm new to this posting thing. I meant to write that it's my friend's daughter who is 5 years old. Should I not even be bothered?

It's a really common mistake for children to make.

If you feel like explaining it I'd draw a place value grid with columns for 100s 10s and units (or 1s). Start by explaining place value for numbers that she is more familiar with E.g. 12 is 1 in the tens column and two in units or 1s column. (You could maybe talk about how the 0 of the 10 is covered over by the 2). Do a few examples with smaller numbers and then move on to bigger and more unfamiliar numbers.

Thanks for the great ideas. Maybe I should leave it alone for the school to sort out eventually. As you say, it's a common mistake and perhaps there's no need to press the panic button. I'll accept (for now) that the numbers 20 and 200 are much easier to teach a five year old than 201. Can anyone recommend any fun games to help with place value?

If it’s your friend’s dd why would you be bringing it up with her teacher?!

Is she 5 and in reception or in year 1. Numbers to 100 are covered in yr 1 and she might have covered place value of 100 in that.

Place value for numbers beyond 100 is a yr 3 objective (7-8 year olds).

If she hasn't covered any place value yet I'd leave well alone with 201.

Sorry just seen that she's 5. Yep if she's in reception I wouldn't worry about it at all. If she's in yr1 then she might have covered place value already, though with smaller numbers. It's something that will be revisited in the curriculum so I wouldn't worry at all.

There is a game I used to play called beat the teacher. It can be fun so I see no harm in playing it so long as she enjoys it. As she's 5 I'd play it like this.

You each have a place value grid with spaces for tens and ones/units and number cards 0-9 turned over face down. You take turns to pick a card and place it on your grid. The person who makes the biggest number wins. After a few times playing the game discuss some strategy. E.g. if you draw a low number place it on the ones/units column and if you draw a higher number place it in the tens column. Keep a tally of how many games you each win. Keep it light and stop when she wants to.

She's five and in year one.

Point taken that place value (in the context of addition or subtraction) is beyond her at this stage, but isn't place value the progression from counting to number recognition?

Perhaps my friend should just leave the school out of it altogether and do place value (for number recognition sake) at home. That's why I asked about fun games so it doesn't become academically burdensome.

It wasn't that I would personally bring it up to the girl's teacher, but rather suggest to my friend to do so.

Why should I care since it's my friend's child? Better question.

I wouldn't categorise this as my parental concern. It's simply that the girl fluidly recites from one hundred to nine hundred in one hundred increments and isn't being challenged beyond that. This came up in casual conversation. I can attest to the girl's counting, hence why I asked her about two hundred and one.

I don't think waiting until the year three curriculum is suitable on this one.

Thanks a bundle, MotherLandGasp!!!!! That's a fabulous game which I will surely recommend.

Fluidly reciting numbers and place value are completely different skills though. It doesn’t’t follow that she’d what 201 means just because she can count to 900 in hundreds.

Not sure I’d bother with games if she doesn’t have an understanding of the value of each place and how that relates to how the number system works. What you need is objects and plenty of practice in grouping them in tens and ones to count. Straws work quite well as you can group them in tens and band them. Egg boxes that hold 10 eggs (or 12s with two cut off) also work. How many tens have you filled? How many ones left over? Then start looking at using place value charts to represent the practical stuff.

But tbh, if it were me I’d leave it alone.

Thanks for that RafalsTheKingofClay. I understand, especially "but tbh, I'd leave it alone".

I used lots of different methods to teach place value. I got a square graph book with quite large squares and coloured in single squares for units, columns of ten for tens and ten by ten squares for 100. Colour them with bright colours and cut them out. You can then show how if the child has ten units, you can swap them from a ten, etc.
I would use a column grid and place these units tens and hundreds into the columns, then write the numbers underneath.
It also helps them see partitioning and helps with adding.
You can also move on to subtracting by taking a column of ten and swapping it for 10 units
I drew an abacus with vertical columns on which you can only fit 9 beads, so when you get 10, you can swap them for one bead on the next column up.
I, however, would not teach someone else's child unless they asked, or at least I had offered to help and they had agreed.
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