Teaching the Base Ten Place Value System

We'll complete and color code a place value chart like this. 

Students will begin the place value unit tomorrow. There are so many ways that we can teach this unit.

I'll begin with connecting this unit to the last unit, the coordinate system, with a focus on the word, system, which is the main concept of all fifth grade math.

I'll pass out a base ten model framework, and have students write the title, "Bast-Ten System." Then I'll ask remind students that "systems" is the main theme in fifth grade math and that we just studied the coordinate system.

I'll ask students to tell me what a system is? Then I'll ask, "What do you know about the base-ten system also known as the base-ten number system, base-ten numeral system, or base-ten place value system. We'll list what students say.

After that I'll focus on the following points:

• The base-ten system might be considered one of the world's greatest inventions. I'll ask students why that might be true.
• Only 10 digits can be combined to make numbers that go to infinity in with greater and greater values and to infinity with smaller and smaller numbers. That's amazing!
• Why is it called a "place value system?" This is true because the value of a number changes depending on its place.

Then we'll begin looking at the "parts" of this system by completing and color coding the chart. Once we complete creating the chart and looking at the "parts" of this system, we'll then look at the "behavior" of the system and how we use the system when using numbers to make sense of, order, organize, analyze, and make predictions about the world around us. 

We'll use the CCSS standards above to guide the first half or the unit.