step 1 of 6
You have watched ten loose ones snap together into one ten. Ravi kept snapping until he had 4 tens, with 7 loose cubes left over. He writes the number 47.
In 47, which digit counts Ravi's snapped tens?
The two digits of a two-digit number
Understand that the two digits of a two-digit number represent amounts of tens and ones
What a learner can do afterwards
- Explain that in 47, the 4 represents 4 tens (40) and the 7 represents 7 ones
- Use base-ten blocks to show a two-digit number as tens and ones
- Identify the tens digit and ones digit in any two-digit number
1 · Read
A two-digit number has two digits, and each one has a job. The digit on the left counts tens. The digit on the right counts ones.
Tap each block and count out loud.
Try it together
Look at 47. The 4 is in the tens spot, so it means 4 tens, which is 40. The 7 is in the ones spot, so it means 7 ones. Forty plus seven is forty-seven.
Good to know
Read a two-digit number from left to right: tens digit first, then ones digit. Swap them and you get a different number.
The left digit tells you the tens, the right digit tells you the ones, and together they make the number.
2 · Watch
3 · Play
Take it off screen
Print a worksheetA4 with an answer key page for grown-ups. No screen, no internet.
Where it sits
Learn first
This opens up
Fluent addition and subtractionA Hundred Is Ten TensRepresenting NumbersMental addition and subtraction (age 6+)The three digits of a three-digit numberUsing structure to calculate efficientlyAdding within 100Adding and subtracting tens mentallyPlace value understanding and number facts10 More or 10 LessCounting forwards and backwards (age 6+)Comparing and ordering numbers
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
Then practise
14 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.