Base 10 Blocks Activities for Place Value: Ideas to Try This Week

Base 10 block activities for hands-on math practice all year long with yellow and blue base ten blocks

Base 10 Blocks can and should be used all year long!

Base 10 blocks are manipulatives we all have tucked away in a bin, but they’re often underused or saved just for the “place value unit.”

Let’s change that. Today, I’m sharing two easy, engaging ways to use base 10 blocks in your classroom. These ideas can be used tomorrow without any extra prep. And if you’re looking for something more, I’ve got six more student-loved activities you’ll want to see at the end of this post.

Try This! Mystery Number Bag

Place a small number of tens and ones blocks inside a paper bag. Students pull out the blocks and identify the value. If you want students to show their work, you can have them write the number in expanded form or draw it on a whiteboard.

Want to stretch their thinking? Ask questions such as: Is this number closer to 20 or 30? What number is 10 more or 10 less?

Try This! Partner Guess My Number Game

Student A builds a number using base 10 blocks behind a privacy folder. Student B asks yes/no questions like these to figure it out:

“Is it more than 40?”
“Does it have any ones?”
“Is it an even number?”

Each question should help student B guess the number. Once the number is guessed, student B takes a turn at building a number.

This activity helps practice number comparison and logical reasoning, with zero prep.

Do you need more activities? I've got you covered.

I have more hands-on activities that your students will love that focus on building, comparing and representing numbers with base 10 blocks.

One of our favourites is the Build a Number Challenge.

Base 10 blocks next to printable number building task cards for math centers using tens and ones

If your students thrive on open-ended challenges, this is the activity they’ll love.

In my Build a Number Challenge, students draw a task card and build a number that fits the prompt using base 10 blocks. Some cards have only one solution (e.g., “build a number with 4 tens and 2 ones”), while others allow for multiple answers (e.g., “build a number with more tens than ones”).

I use this activity during math time or as a morning work activity, and it is also available for early finishers. It is also a great activity to use to quickly check understanding. Give each student their own card, have them show the answer with blocks, and then record their answer on a post-it.

I have 5 more activities in this pack and another set that includes a Google Slides option for your students working online. I also have a bundle of activities for 15 different manipulatives that you can check out here: Hands-On Math Activities for Early Finishers, Math Centers and Morning Work.

Printable base ten blocks math games for first grade including roll and compare, spin and cover, and place value building tasks

Base 10 blocks don’t have to be boring, and they’re definitely not just for the beginning of the year. With a few creative tweaks, you can use them to work on number sense all year long.

If you are curious about other activities you can use with your math manipulatives, check out this post: Start your day with Morning Tubs.