Title – Expanded Form Made Simple

By – Laurie Johns

Primary Subject – Math

Grade Level – 2-4

Many of my kids have had an awful time figuring out the expanded form of numbers.

I have larger sized graph paper and put a number out into each spot usually to the thousands.

Above each spot, I put O for ones, T for tens, H for hundreds, and TH for thousands.

Then I tell kids, you start with the first number, write it, then follow it with all O’s until you reach the end. Then go to the next spot and do the same until you reach the end or ones place. They line them up and using the graph paper helps them keep things lined up well.

EXAMPLE
TH	H	T	O
3	5	6	3
3	0	0	0
+	5	0	0
+		6	0
+			3

This is the expanded form 4,000 + 500 + 60 + 3.0

After doing a few with them, leave them to try it alone

I also then reverse it so they can go from expanded to standard form as well

Takes some practice and getting used to, but seems to work well, especially kids who can’t “SEE” it.

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Laurie Johns

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