Fill it up 

Summary

Students use place value and reasoning to order 2-digit numbers.

Curriculum content

• Order 2-digit numbers

Materials

Card sets

• 1 set of Mathletics number cards 0 to 9 0-9

Concrete

• Pen and paper or whiteboards and whiteboard pens

How to play

Set up

1. Arrange students into pairs. 
2. Shuffle or mix up cards and place them in a pile face down.
3. Have each student draw a vertical grid with spaces for 5 numbers.

Rules

1. Player 1 takes two cards and arranges them to make a 2-digit number.  
2. Player 1 writes their 2-digit number in any space on their grid. However, numbers must be in ascending order from bottom to top. 
3. Place used cards in a discard pile.
4. Player 2 has a turn doing the same.
5. When all the cards have been used, shuffle and restart the pile.
6. Continue taking turns and writing numbers on the grid.
7. If a player cannot correctly write a number in a space, they miss a turn.
8. Play continues until one player has filled in their grid with 2-digit numbers in ascending order.

Variations

CHANGE it down

• Play cooperatively with one grid between 2 students.

CHANGE it up

• Write 50 in the top space as the highest number allowed.
• Use 3 cards to create 3-digit numbers.
• Play with 8 to 10 spaces on the grid.

What to look for

• Are students using place value understanding to arrange and order the 2-digit numbers?
• Are students able to think strategically when placing the 2-digit numbers?