Yes, I’ve encountered bats here and there… flying in a bedroom, clinging to the side of my house, flitting among the neighborhood trees at dusk, and roosting upside-down in a cavern. And while I’d rather not cross paths with a bat, I do find them fascinating creatures to learn about! I created this free number forms and place value activity to complement your bat units of study. Of course, it’s also perfect to use as a stand-alone activity.
Use this math activity to provide practice with the standard, word, expanded, and place value number forms of two or three-digit numbers. Try it in your instructional and intervention groups or as an independent station. It’s an engaging way for partners or small groups of first, second, or early third-grade students to apply their knowledge of number forms.
Materials Needed For Batty About Number Forms
You will need:
- activity mats (one for each participant)
- counters (buttons, gems, erasers, etc.) or crayons
- activity cards (one set for each small group)
Get It Ready
Make the following choices:
- color (use counters) or black/ white (use crayons) activity mats
- two-digit or three-digit-numbers
- one-sided activity cards or two-sided cards with a color or black/ white back
Then, start printing. Use card stock and laminate the color activity mats and activity cards, if you’re planning to reuse them. Print the black/ white activity mats on paper. These can be consumed or used with dry erase pockets and markers/ crayons.
Cut out the activity cards. Shuffle them. If desired, place them in a decorative container.
Organize your materials. Put them together in zippered bags or a paper tray/ basket.
Get ‘Em Engaged With Number Forms
Get started by placing the shuffled activity cards face down in a stack or a messy pile. Or make it exciting by placing them in a decorative, seasonal container.
Sadly after scouring all my local stores, I couldn’t find anything suitable. I found directions for making bat cups on-line. The ones I made looked adorable but my photos with them didn’t! Try these by Frugal Mom Eh! or First Palette.
Take turns picking a card. Look at the word, expanded, or place value form on the card.
Find the corresponding standard form of the number on your mat. Color or cover the number. If the number is already marked, you lose your turn.
Create a discard pile. Shuffle and reuse the cards, as needed.
Who can be the first one to mark all of the numbers on the mat?
Click the highlighted words to download Batty About Number Forms.
Looking For More Resources…
Check out this blog post, One Free and Refreshing Place Value Activity. It highlights a free resource with built-in learning support designed to help students make explicit connections between the standard, expanded, and word forms of numbers.
Try my newly updated bat-themed roam the room resources to provide individualized practice with number forms and place value.
Batty Place Value reinforces representing two-digit numerals in different forms. It also provides practice with rounding and ten less/ ten more than a number.
Batty Base Ten emphasizes representing three-digit numerals in different forms. In addition, it gives opportunities for rounding to the nearest ten or hundred, determining ten less/ more and one hundred less/ more than a number.
And lastly, find facts about bats on KidZone and National Geographic Kids that will amaze your students!
What are your favorite bat-themed learning activities?
Bat photo in title image by Prickly Pair.
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