Tens and Ones Worksheet: Practice Place Value with Fun Elephants!
This worksheet has children break two-digit numbers into their tens and ones parts, then apply that understanding to simple addition and subtraction, a natural next step once place value clicks. For ages four to six, using the playful elephant images keeps a fairly abstract math concept approachable while still building the numerical foundation they'll rely on for years of arithmetic to come.
Part of the pack
Month 8: English, Math, Science | Ages 6-7Curriculum
How to use this worksheet
Look at the number written on the first elephant together and ask your child how many tens and how many ones it contains. Have them write the number of tens in one box and the number of ones in the other, checking their answer by counting up from the tens, like '10, 20, 21, 22,' to confirm the total matches. Once the tens-and-ones boxes are complete for each elephant, move to the addition and subtraction problems, encouraging your child to use their tens-and-ones understanding to solve them. Review the answers together, asking your child to explain their thinking on at least one problem.
Materials needed
- Pencil
- Eraser
Extension activities
- •Use base-ten blocks, or stacks of ten small objects, to physically build a few two-digit numbers together.
- •Create flashcards showing different tens-and-ones combinations and quiz each other on the total number.
- •Practice writing a two-digit number your child chooses and breaking it into tens and ones out loud.
- •Play a place-value guessing game: give clues like 'I have 3 tens and 4 ones — what number am I?'
Tips for parents and teachers
Say the numbers out loud with an emphasis on the tens and ones place, like 'twenty-THREE has two tens and THREE ones,' since hearing the structure spoken aloud helps it register alongside the written digits. If your child solves addition or subtraction problems by counting on their fingers rather than using tens and ones, that's a normal transitional stage — gently reintroduce the base-ten blocks to bridge the gap.
Written by
Hemsweta Jain · Teacher Cheena
MBA and Early Childhood Educator, teaching since 2014 · Founder of RaisoActive, Mumbai
Every RaisoActive worksheet is designed and checked by the founder before publishing.
Published · Last reviewed
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