ExplorerGrades 1–2⏱ 12 min
Tens and ones
Build numbers with blocks, bundle ten ones into a ten, and see what each digit means.
Standards: 1.NBT.B.21.NBT.A.1
1Wonder
34 and 43 use the same two digits. Are they the same number? What does each digit really mean?
2Explore
This activity needs a bigger screen
Turn your phone sideways, or open this lesson on a tablet or computer. The explanation and quiz below work here.
Try this
- Add ones until you have 10 or more. Then press Bundle. What happens?
- Make 34, then make 43. What changed?
- Press Give me a number and build it.
- Break a ten into ones. Is it still the same number?
3Explain
Step 1 of 5
10 ones make 1 ten
Put 10 small cubes together and you get one tall rod: a ten. Ten ones and one ten are the same amount.
4Practice
Question 1 of 5
What number is this?
5Recap
- 10 ones = 1 ten.
- In a two-digit number, the first digit is the tens and the second digit is the ones.
- 34 = 3 tens + 4 ones = 30 + 4.
- Got 10 or more ones? Bundle them into a ten.