Place Value Matching Worksheet

Place value is the idea that a digit is worth different amounts depending on where it sits in a number, and this Place Value Matching Worksheet gives second graders a hands-on way to see it. In a three-digit number the digit on the right counts single ones, the middle digit counts groups of ten, and the digit on the left counts groups of one hundred. Base ten blocks make that invisible rule visible: a flat is a hundred squares, a rod is ten, and a small cube is one. When children match a picture of blocks to the number it represents, they are translating between a quantity they can count and the compact symbol we write for it.

This 2nd grade base ten blocks worksheet has two parts that run the same skill in both directions. In Part A, students study five groups of base ten blocks and draw a line from each group to the matching three-digit number in the column on the right. Two of the groups include a zero place, so children meet the placeholder rather than avoiding it. In Part B, they work backwards and break three numbers into expanded form, writing the hundreds, the tens, and the ones in their own boxes. Use it as guided practice after a lesson with real manipulatives, as morning work, or as a quick check before a unit test. A full answer key is the last page.

What’s Included

• 1 print-ready PDF worksheet
• Answer key
• 5 base ten block matching items and 3 expanded form items

There are three reasons this Place Value Matching Worksheet helps children learn the skill. First, matching is a low-pressure format: a student who is unsure can count the blocks and hunt for the number, which keeps them working instead of guessing. Second, the numbers are scrambled against the block pictures, so the page cannot be finished by pairing the first picture with the first number, and every item has to be read. Third, pairing recognition in Part A with decomposition in Part B builds flexibility, because a child who can go from blocks to a number and from a number back to hundreds, tens, and ones truly understands the value of each digit.

Teachers and parents can stretch this skill well past the page. Hand out real base ten blocks and have partners build a number for each other to write down, then swap roles. Play a rolling game: roll three dice, arrange the digits to make the largest number you can, and build it with blocks. Write a number on a sticky note and have your child show it three ways, with blocks, in expanded form, and in words. Hunt for three-digit numbers on cereal boxes, house numbers, and price tags, and ask how many hundreds each one holds. Short, playful rounds like these make place value stick.

Related Resources

• HTO Place Value Worksheet
• Count Tens and Ones Worksheet
• Place Value Expanded Form Worksheet
• Counting By Tens Song