Expanded Form Teaching Resources
Download expanded form teaching resources designed to make math more fun this school year and make your math centers easier to plan! Every resource on the Teach Starter website has been created by an expert teacher and reviewed by another team of expert teachers to ensure they’re ready for your classroom and your students.
Get students thinking about how large numbers can be broken down into individual place values and better understand their value with resources aligned with Common Core math.
New to teaching this section of the math curriculum, or just looking for some tips on engaging your students? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including an explanation of what expanded form is, how it helps kids break down multi-digit whole numbers and how it relates to place value.
What Is Expanded Form? A Kid-Friendly Definition
Let's start with a student-friendly way to introduce expanded form to your math class! Here's a definition our maths teachers use in the classroom:
Expanded form is a way of representing a number as the sum of its place values by breaking the number down into its individual parts. Writing a number in this form shows the value of each digit in the number.
Expanded Form Examples — How to Write Numbers in Expanded Form
A definition is helpful, but how do you make this concept more concrete for your young learners and help them understand how to write numbers in this format themselves? Expanded form examples, of course!
Let's take the number 345. When we break it down, this number has:
- A 3 in the hundreds place
- A 4 in the tens place
- A 5 in the ones place
To write the number 345 in expanded form, we would create an addition problem:
300 + 40 + 5
If you add these three numbers back together, you will end up with 345!
Teaching Expanded Form
Expanded form activities are often pulled out in the first few weeks of the school year, but you might consider adding these to your math centers all year for a few reasons!
- It helps younger math students understand the value of zeros in those longer three- and four-digit numbers.
- It helps students understand how the digits 0, 1, and 2 form multi-digit numbers.
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Expanded Form Dominoes (2-Digit Numbers)
Use this set of dominoes when learning how to match 2-digit numbers written in standard form and expanded form.
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Expanded Form Dominoes (4-Digit Numbers)
Use this set of dominoes when learning how to match 4-digit numbers written in standard form and expanded form.
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Place Value Worksheets (Platypus Theme)
Practice writing numbers in standard form, expanded form, and word form with this differentiated worksheet.
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Expanded Notation Puzzles - Whole Numbers
Practice whole number expanded notation with this 28-piece matching puzzle.
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Number Talks - Building Numbers Task Cards
Build number sense skills with this set of 24 task cards.
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Number Talks - Place Value Task Cards
Build number sense skills with this set of 24 task cards.
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Number Talks - Near, Far, and in Between Task Cards
Build number sense skills with this set of 24 task cards.
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Flip, Draw, Expand! - Place Value Worksheet (2-Digit Numbers)
A worksheet to use when reviewing 2-digit place value.
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My 2-Digit Place Value Diary
A diary for students to make when showing their understanding of 2-digit place value.
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Place Value Cards - 10,000; 1,000; 100; 10; 1
A set of place value cards to help students explore and expand larger numbers.
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Flip, Draw, Expand! - Place Value Worksheet (4-Digit Numbers)
A worksheet to use when practicing place value with 4-digit numbers.
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Exploring 4-Digit Place Value - Assessment
An assessment task in which students will demonstrate an understanding of place value in the thousands place.
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Expanding Numbers Beyond 10,000
A 60-minute lesson in which students will investigate how place value can be used to expand numbers.
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Decomposing Numbers Beyond 10,000
A 60-minute lesson in which students will investigate how place value can be used to decompose numbers into smaller parts.
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Decomposing Numbers Through 9,999
A 60-minute lesson in which students will investigate how place value can be used to decompose numbers into smaller parts.
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Decomposing and Expanding 3-Digit Numbers
A 60-minute lesson in which students will understand how 3-digit numbers can be decomposed.
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Decomposing and Expanding 2-Digit Numbers
A 60-minute lesson in which students will understand how 2-digit numbers can be decomposed.
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Exploring 5-Digit Place Value - Assessment
An assessment task in which students will demonstrate an understanding of place value in the ten thousands place.