Three Common Student Misconceptions When Teaching Elementary Math Place Value
Your first year teaching, or starting in a new grade level, is always challenging because you are learning the content, planning how to teach the content, and adjusting lessons as you go based on how your students perform. You learn a lot during that first year, and each subsequent year you get better at teaching that grade level because you are able to anticipate common student misconceptions.
Every elementary math teacher starts the year teaching place value, and it’s an important lesson because it lays the groundwork for having strong number sense. You can imagine how tough it would be to teach place value correctly on the very first try! In this blog post, I’m sharing three common student misconceptions we see when teaching place value, and how you can tailor your math lessons to anticipate these misconceptions. Let’s jump right in!
Misconception #1: Students who say and write the word “and” when reading and writing numbers to the hundreds place. Watch the video below to learn how to correctly teach students writing numbers in word form.
Misconception #2: Students who read inequalities backwards. For example, if students see the inequality 3 < 7, they will say, “7 is greater than 3.” While that is true, we have to remind students that we read number sentences the same way we read pages in a book…from left to right. So the correct way to read the inequality is, “3 is less than 7.” To help students with this, you can draw an arrow (as shown below) as a visual reminder that we always read number sentences from left to right.
Quick tip: Instead of teaching students, “The alligator eats the bigger number,” have students draw two dots next to the larger number and one dot next to the smaller number. Then, when students connect the dots they’ll draw the correct inequality symbol. Still a trick, but less room for error!
Misconception #3: Students not realizing that the digits 0 - 9 are the foundation of our number system. Watch the video below to learn how to correctly teach students about digits and our number system.
If you are interested in teaching these strategies to your students, check out my Place Value and Compare and Order powerpoint lessons for first, second, and third grade. Right now I’m offering each of these lessons for 50% off! (Use discount code at checkout: PLACEVALUE50).
The interactive slides will keep your students super engaged, and all you have to do is download the presentations and teach!
Be sure to also download my FREE elementary math vocab cards with tips on how to teach and incorporate math vocabulary in your classroom! Use the form below to get instant access!
