Mathematics · Year 2

Active learning ideas

Tens and Ones Architecture

Active learning works because place value is a spatial concept. Children need to physically move, build and manipulate materials to see that 25 is not just two digits but two groups of ten plus five single units. Movement and discussion create lasting mental images, turning abstract symbols into concrete understanding.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS1: Mathematics - Number and Place Value

• 15–40 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Stations Rotation
• 40 min · Small Groups

Stations Rotation: The Number Builders

Set up four stations where students must build the same number using different representations: Base 10 blocks, part-whole models, straw bundles, and place value counters. Students rotate in small groups, checking if their partner's model matches the target number.

Analyze what happens to a number's value if we swap the tens and ones digits.

Facilitation Tip

During The Number Builders, position yourself so you can see every child’s model and correct any reversed digits immediately by pointing to the tens and ones columns on the table grid.

What to look for

Show students a number, for example, 53. Ask: 'How many tens are in this number? How many ones? Draw a picture to show me 53 using tens and ones blocks.'

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 20 min · Pairs

Role Play: The Tens and Ones Shop

One student acts as the 'Tens Clerk' and another as the 'Ones Clerk'. Customers must request a specific number of items, and the clerks must work together to provide the correct amount of tens-rods and ones-cubes to fulfill the order.

Explain how partitioning a number in different ways helps us solve problems.

Facilitation Tip

While The Tens and Ones Shop runs, listen closely to children’s price negotiations to check they’re using tens and ones language (e.g., ‘three 10p coins and four 1p coins’), not just stating numbers.

What to look for

Give each student a card with a two-digit number. Ask them to write the number in tens and ones (e.g., 3 tens, 7 ones) and then write one sentence explaining why the digit 0 is important in the number 30.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Inquiry Circle
• 15 min · Pairs

Inquiry Circle: Digit Swap

In pairs, students use digit cards to create a two-digit number, then swap the digits. They must use equipment to show how the value changed and explain to the class why 25 is different from 52.

Justify why the number zero is important when we write the number ten.

Facilitation Tip

In Digit Swap, give each group a single large number card so everyone must agree on the new number before writing it, preventing silent errors from unchecked individual work.

What to look for

Present two numbers, like 24 and 42. Ask: 'What is the same about these numbers? What is different? What happens to the value of the number if we swap the tens and ones digits? Why?'

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with concrete manipulatives—ten sticks and single cubes—before moving to drawings and symbols. Research shows that delaying the shift to abstract notation too soon can embed misconceptions. Use consistent language: always say ‘two tens and five ones’ instead of ‘two five’, and model writing the number below the model to link concrete and symbolic. Avoid rushing to worksheets; let children explain their thinking aloud as they build each number.

Successful learning looks like students confidently partitioning any two-digit number, explaining the value of each digit, and using tens and ones language fluently. You’ll notice them spontaneously grouping objects into tens and counting on in tens before adding the ones. They should also question peers when digits are misplaced, showing their reasoning with materials.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Station Rotation: The Number Builders, watch for children labeling their model as ‘2’ and ‘5’ without grouping the cubes into ten sticks first.

  Stop the child and model grouping ten single cubes into a stick, saying aloud, ‘This group of ten cubes is one ten. Now we have two sticks, so that is two tens.’ Ask the child to recount the total while pointing to each stick and the remaining ones.

• During Role Play: The Tens and Ones Shop, watch for students writing prices as ‘15p’ or ‘25p’ but counting out ‘1 ten and 5’ or ‘2 tens and 5’ in coins.

  Hand the child a 10p and 5p coin together and say, ‘This is one ten pence and five pence. When you write 15p, the 1 shows one ten pence. Show me with your coins how 15p looks.’

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Methods used in this brief

• Stations Rotation
• Role Play
• Inquiry Circle