Model the Same Number in Different Ways

Model first grade two-digit numbers in multiple equivalent ways using tens and ones

1st Grade - Math - Understand Place Value

About This Skill

Enhance first grade number sense by learning Different Ways to Model the Same Number. This skill focuses on place value flexibility, showing students how a two-digit number can be represented in multiple, equivalent ways using tens and ones. Move beyond the standard model (like 4 tens and 2 ones) to explore alternatives (such as 3 tens and 12 ones for the number 42). Understanding these different ways to show numbers deepens comprehension of base ten concepts, visually introduces the idea of regrouping, and builds a crucial foundation for future math operations.

Skills & Topics

  • Number Sense and Operations
  • Whole Numbers
  • Place Value
  • Quantities
  • Counting Numbers
  • Digit
  • Tense
  • Base-Ten Numerals
  • Cardinality
  • Number Sense
  • Quantity

Curriculum Alignment

  • 1.NBT.B.2: Understand that the two digits of a two-digit number represent amounts of tens and ones. Understand the following as special cases: a. 10 can be thought of as a bundle of ten ones — called a “ten.” b. The numbers from 11 to 19 are composed of a ten and one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine ones. c. The numbers 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 refer to one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine tens (and 0 ones).
  • AC9M1N02: partition one- and two-digit numbers in different ways using physical and virtual materials, including partitioning two-digit numbers into tens and ones
  • NY-1.NBT.2
  • ZA.CAPS.MATH.G1.NOR.1.5
  • ENG-MATH-Y1-NPV.4: Identify and represent numbers using objects and pictorial representations including the number line, and use the language of: equal to, more than, less than (fewer), most, least.