Using Base-10 Blocks to Build Number Sense -

Building number sense is one of the most important jobs of the elementary math teacher! If students don’t build a solid number sense in elementary school, they will often struggle with math in middle and high school. A key part of helping students to build their number sense is by using concrete tools, such as base-10 blocks, early and often in elementary school.

This post contains a list of three ways that base-10 blocks can be used in the classroom. This list is not exhaustive, but merely a starting point.

Understanding Place Value

Using base-10 blocks to teach students place value is the most common use of this manipulative that I see. But there are so many ways to practice place value with base-10 blocks beyond simply building 2-, 3-, and 4-digit numbers!

The standard way of building 247 with base-10 blocks.

Have students build numbers in different ways to help students understand the relationship between places, as well as regrouping. For example, instead of building 247 with 2 flats, 4 rods, and 7 cubes, is there another way to build it? What if you built it using 24 rods and 7 cubes? This would allow you to have class discussions about the relationship between the tens and the hundreds place!

Showing 247 with 24 tens instead of 2 hundreds and 4 tens help students to understand the relationship between places.

Addition and Subtraction

Many teachers want to jump right into the standard algorithm when teaching students to add and subtract multi-digit numbers. When beginning to add or subtract larger numbers, you should always begin with concrete examples. This allows students to understand why their answer is reasonable.

Building numbers and physically adding them helps students to understand what regrouping means.

Using base-10 blocks to model addition and subtraction is especially important when teaching regrouping! Simply telling students to “borrow” or “carry” doesn’t provide them with the true meaning of what they are doing. Students should have practice with physically “regrouping” numbers before attempting to understand the algorithm.

Trading ten cubes for a rod solidifies the knowledge of regrouping in students’ minds before they learn the standard algorithm.

Multiplication and Division

There are many ways to model multiplication and division, but base-10 blocks are a staple when modeling larger numbers! Using base-10 blocks to model multiplication and division allows students to create groups or arrays using much larger numbers.

Students can model 3 x 124 by building 3 groups of 124.

Base-10 blocks are also necessary for introducing the concept of the area model. Area models link area to multiplication, as well as show students how multiplication of larger numbers works.

Building 23 x 15 in an array will make the area model make more sense later.

Using base-10 blocks, along with other manipulatives, can lead to a stronger number sense in students! When students have a solid foundation in number sense, they will be more successful when they are introduced to more difficult math concepts later.

After your students have mastered a conceptual understanding of number sense, they will be ready to move on to some procedural practice! Below are some resources I’ve created for this practice.