Objective

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to understand place value and the role of zero in representing numbers up to tens of thousands.

Materials and Prep

• Paper
• Pencil

No prior knowledge needed, just come with a curious mind!

Activities

• Place Value Houses: Draw houses with different place values (ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands) and fill them with numbers using zeros.
• Number Building: Create numbers using digits and zero, and then discuss the value of each digit based on its place in the number.
• Number Hunt: Write down numbers around the house and identify the value of each digit, paying special attention to the zeros.

Talking Points

• Numbers are like houses, each place value is like a different room in the house. The zero is like an empty room waiting for a number to move in. So, when we have a zero in a number, it means that place value is empty for now.
• Imagine you are building a number, and you need to decide where each digit will go. The position of each digit determines its value. For example, in the number 205, the zero in the tens place means we have 0 tens, but we have 2 ones and 5 hundreds.
• Let's go on a number hunt! Look around and find numbers on objects or in books. Write them down and then we can break them apart to see the value of each digit. Remember, zeros are important too!