Base Ten Blocks

Base Ten Block Starter Set - $13.50
Includes 100 units, 50 rods, 10 flats, and 1 cube.

Base Ten Block Small Group Set - $39.95
Includes 200 units, 100 rods, 20 flats, 2 cubes, overhead base ten set, and a teacher resource guide, Developing Mathematics with Base Ten.

Grades 1-6

FREE Base Ten Place Value Mat available to download. Reproduce as is for individual students or enlarge for groups.

WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD -- Small parts. Not for children under 3 yrs.

Base ten blocks are a mathematical manipulative used by students to learn basic mathematical concepts including addition, subtraction, number sense, place value and counting. Students can manipulate base ten blocks in different ways to express numbers and patterns. The 3-dimensional base ten blocks come in four sizes to indicate their individual place value: Units (one’s place), Rods (ten’s place), Flats (hundred’s place) and Blocks (thousand’s place). (1) Base ten blocks are popular in elementary school mathematics instruction. Base ten blocks are frequently used in the classroom by teachers to model concepts, as well as by students to reinforce their own understanding of said concepts. Physically manipulating objects is an important technique used in learning basic mathematic principles, particularly at the early stages of cognitive development. (2)

Create a base ten block assessment, formative or summative, to determine how your students are mastering place value, decimals, subtraction, and addition.

1.  Van de Walle, John (2008). Elementary and Middle School Mathematics: Teaching Developmentally, p. 191. Pearson Education Inc. USA. ISBN 100205573525

2.  Hatfield, Mary M. (1994)."Use of manipulative devices: Elementary school cooperating. " School Science and Mathematics 94.6 (1994): 303-309.

Internet Resources

Virtual Base Ten Blocks (NLVM)

Base Ten Block Worksheets