Skip to main content

The Hundreds Chart - For More Than Just Counting!

As a rotary primary math teacher, one of the most useful tools I have ever used is the hundreds chart.  From 1st to 3rd grade, these charts have helped my students to develop number sense and an understanding of basic math concepts such as counting, skip counting, addition and subtraction, multiplication, patterns and number relationships.

A hundreds chart is a grid of numbers from 1 to 100, usually arranged in 10 rows and 10 columns, ranging from 1-100.  I would paste a blank hundreds chart and one with numbers on, back to back, on cardstock and then laminate them, keeping them in a basket for easy access with whiteboard markers.  For my 2nd and 3rd graders, we also kept baskets of charts from 1-120 and 101-200.  

Here are some ways you can use a 100's chart to support student learning:

Counting and number recognition: 

Use the chart to help students count and recognize numbers up to 100. Have students point to each number as they count aloud, or call out a number and have students locate it on the chart.  Blank hundreds charts are used for practice printing numbers in counting order.  Students love to use a marker to print their numbers and they are easily erased.  

Skip counting:

 A hundreds chart is a great tool for practicing skip counting. Have students start at 1 and skip count by 2s, 5s, or 10s, marking each number they say on the chart. This will help reinforce the pattern of skip counting and improve number sense.  When students can count by 3's, 4's and so on, coloring each number in the sequence makes interesting patterns on the chart.

Number patterns: 

Challenge students to identify patterns on the chart, such as the diagonal pattern of numbers.  Here is an example from our Grade 2 Patterning math package of counting by 3's.   If you add the digits in each diagonal, the sum will be the first number in the diagonal.  In this sample, we are looking at the "9" diagonal.  18=1+8 =9, 27=2+7=9 and so on.  If you make diagonals towards the right, you subtract the digits to get the first number. My students were so amazed that you could find out so much on a simple chart of numbers!

Addition and subtraction: 

Use the chart to practice addition and subtraction by having students find the sum or difference between two numbers on the chart.  Students in 1st grade will learn to "hop" on the chart forward and backward to add and subtract.  With larger numbers, instruct them to start at the biggest addend, count the rows by 10's and then the 1's.  For example, adding 43 plus 27, you would start at 43, jump two rows forward for 20 and then forward by 1's for the 7.  Subtraction would be the opposite - jumping backwards.  This also helps with place value as students are decomposing numbers into their 10's and 1's.

Multiplication and Division

A hundreds chart is excellent for demonstrating the repeated addition and repeated subtraction components of multiplication and division.  To multiply 3 x 4, start off the chart and hop 3 spaces onto the chart four times.  So, your first number is 3, followed by 6, 9 and 12.  To divide, start at 12 and take hops of 3 backwards.  Then count how many hops you took to get the answer.

The hundreds chart is not just for learning to count to 100.  The kinds of patterns that we see are intriguing and interesting for students to learn, while adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing on them builds a strong sense of number.  If you haven't yet, try just one of the suggestions above.  Let us know what you think!

P.S.  If you are looking for a variety of hundred charts, try our math package:  MATH TOOLS - Hundred charts | Ten Frames | Number Lines | Subitizing Cards (teacherspayteachers.com)








Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Using Math Manipulatives in the Primary Classroom

  Learning math in the primary grades should be an active experience that involves hands-on activities, exploration, and talking.  That is how young children learn.  While rules and procedures are part of effective classroom management, a compromise is needed between keeping a quiet classroom where students sit at their seats all day and developmentally appropriate active student learning.   That means it's going to be organized, engaging, and fun with "controlled noisiness", as I like to call it.  This blog post will discuss some ways to make your primary classroom an effective learning place.  Let's start with manipulatives. Math manipulatives are objects that students can manipulate to help them understand mathematical concepts. They are an effective teaching tool in primary classrooms because they engage students and help make abstract concepts more concrete.  Introduce manipulatives :  Begin by introducing the manipulatives that stu...
Post a Comment
Read more

How To Ace Teaching Data in Grade 2: We Make It Easy!

When I taught Grade 2 Data Management with the Ontario 2005 math curriculum, the biggest challenge was mastering the Venn Diagram.  For many students, that was difficult enough, often taking up to two weeks before they were confident in their skill level.  The surveys, tally tables, line plots, bar graphs, and pictographs were based on organizing and displaying data according to one attribute which were demanding enough. Now, as I read through the new Ontario Curriculum 2020 for Data Literacy and Probability, I am struck by the degree of difficulty that the Grade 2 student is expected to understand.  The Venn Diagram is only a small part of it.  How are we expected to teach it?   Students are expected to use  two-way tally tables, Venn Diagrams, and Carroll diagrams for collecting and organizing data. Line plots, bar graphs, and pictographs display two attributes instead of one. Students have to ask survey questions with two attributes such as 1) wha...
Post a Comment
Read more

How My Students Really Became Excellent Problem Solvers

Growing up, I was pretty good at math except for problem-solving.  When I think about it, we were just sort of expected to be able to solve problems if we knew the math.  We weren't actually taught how to solve them.  Thank goodness that has changed! Problem-solving is an essential part of mathematics education, and it is a skill that can be developed and nurtured at an early age. In the Ontario math curriculum for the primary grades, problem-solving is a significant focus, with students expected to develop problem-solving strategies and apply them to a range of mathematical situations. Because I didn't think I was good at problem-solving, I made it a priority to learn how to teach it.  In fact, most of my math programming focused on solving problems.  And my students really became excellent problem solvers! This was my approach to teaching problem-solving: Emphasize problem-solving strategies:  Teach students a variety of problem-solving strategies, suc...
Post a Comment
Read more