Understanding place value is an important Math skill for elementary students.  One of the objectives is for students to describe the relationship between places in a base ten system.  Although this may seem difficult at first, starting with concrete manipulatives can really help students gain a deeper understanding.

I like to start by letting students “play” with the blocks for a few minutes.  Then I will ask specific questions and have them use the blocks to work out answers.  One such example is “How many ones do you need to equal a ten?” or “How many tens can you use to make one hundred?”  Give students time to work together or independently with the blocks to answer the question, then discuss.  I also like to write the questions/answers on the board or have a record sheet for them to work along with.

After students have a lot of practice discussing and writing the relationships with place value blocks, a place value chart will come in handy.  I like to use different colors and draw arrows on the place value chart to show the students the patterns on the chart.

I also teach students how to draw their own place value charts.  When working word problems with relationships, I have my students draw and label place value charts.

If you are looking for resources to help your students master this objective, I have two great resources in my TpT store:

Place Value Relationships Task Cards:

Place Value Relationships Notes and Practice: