Hundreds, tens and ones: what children learn
Year 3 pupils learn to recognise the place value of each digit in a three-digit number: hundreds, tens and ones. In 365, the 3 is worth 300, the 6 is worth 60 and the 5 is worth 5.
The game asks 'What is the value of the digit in this number?' with four choices. The wrong answers include the digit itself and the digit in the wrong place, which are the most common mistakes. All numbers use three different digits so each question has only one correct answer.
This topic covers the Year 3 statutory requirement in the National Curriculum in England (Number – number and place value): pupils should be taught to “recognise the place value of each digit in a 3-digit number (100s, 10s, 1s)”. Year 3 pupils are usually aged 7–8.
For families following US standards, the closest Common Core standard is 2.NBT.A.1, which is taught in Grade 2.
How to play
Answer 10 questions before the clock runs out. Tap an answer, or press 1 to 4. Each game has 10 multiple-choice questions and a 100-second timer. A wrong answer shows the correct one before moving on. You earn up to three stars depending on your score.
Step by step
- Know the three columns. From the right, the columns are ones, tens and hundreds. Each column is worth ten times the one to its right.
- Find the digit's column. In 482, the 8 is in the middle column, which is tens.
- Multiply by the column value. 8 tens is 80. A digit in the hundreds column is worth that many hundreds: 4 hundreds is 400.
- Partition the whole number. 482 = 400 + 80 + 2. Partitioning shows the value of every digit at once.
Worked examples
Example 1: What is the value of the 7 in 730?
Working: The 7 is in the hundreds column.
Answer: 700
Example 2: What is the value of the 4 in 941?
Working: The 4 is in the tens column, so it is worth 4 tens.
Answer: 40
Example 3: What is the value of the 2 in 512?
Working: The 2 is in the ones column.
Answer: 2
Common mistakes and how to fix them
- Giving the digit instead of its value. Ask 'seven what?' Seven hundreds is 700.
- Losing track of zero as a place holder, as in 305. Use a place value chart; the 0 shows there are no tens.
- Reading the columns from the left as ones, tens, hundreds. Always start from the right-hand digit: that is the ones.
Activities to try at home
- Make three-digit amounts with £1 coins, 10p and 1p coins: £3.65 is 3 pounds, 6 ten-pences and 5 pennies.
- Read numbers on car number plates or page numbers and ask what a digit is worth.
- Roll three dice to make the largest and smallest three-digit numbers you can.
Ideas for the classroom
- Use base-10 blocks or place value counters to build numbers.
- Show the same number partitioned in different ways: 146 = 100 + 40 + 6 = 130 + 16.
- Ask pupils to make a number where the tens digit is worth 50 and the hundreds digit is worth 200.
Printable worksheet
The printable worksheet uses the same question generator as the game, so it practises exactly the same skills. It comes with a separate answer sheet on the second page. Print it, or save it as a PDF from your browser's print menu.
Frequently asked questions
What is place value?
Place value means a digit is worth a different amount depending on its position. The 3 in 300 is worth more than the 3 in 30.
Does the game include zeros?
Numbers can contain a 0 (such as 730), but the game never asks for the value of the 0.
What comes next?
Year 4 extends place value to four-digit numbers, and Year 5 to numbers up to 1,000,000.