4.2.A

Math4th GradeNumber and operations

The Standard

interpret the value of each place-value position as 10 times the position to the right and as one-tenth of the value of the place to its left

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Mathematics

Teacher's field guide

What This Standard Means

What Students Need to Do

Students explain how a digit’s value changes when it moves one place left or right. They apply the same pattern across whole-number and decimal places.

What Mastery Looks Like

Students identify the value of a digit in any given position. They can explain, for example, why 600 is ten times 60 and 0.6 is one-tenth of 6.

Common Misconceptions

Students may think repeated digits have the same value, regardless of position. They may reverse the pattern when moving right or think it stops at the decimal point.

How to Assess It

Exit ticket: In 33.3, write the value of each 3 and explain how each value relates to the one beside it.

Lesson moves

Ways to Teach It

  1. Build 3 hundreds with base-ten blocks, then exchange each hundred for 10 tens and record the values on a place-value mat.

  2. Ask students to explain in writing why the 4s in 440 have different values and how those values are related.

  3. Play a card game where students move one digit left or right on a place-value chart and state its new value.

  4. Use play money to compare $1, $0.10, and $0.01, then describe how each amount relates to the next.

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