Lesson 10

Place Value Comparisons (Part 1)

Lesson Purpose

The purpose of this lesson is for students to compare three-digit numbers using their understanding of place value.

Lesson Narrative

In grade 1, students compared two-digit numbers using the \(<\), \(>\), and \(=\) symbols. In previous lessons, students represented three-digit numbers in different ways and identified the place value of digits in three-digit numbers.

In this lesson, students transition from representing and comparing three-digit numbers based on the counting sequence and their location on the number line to focus on reasoning based on place value. They compare hundreds to hundreds, tens to tens, and ones to ones and learn that any number with a greater number of hundreds is larger than a number with fewer hundreds, regardless of the value of the tens and ones (MP7). For example, \(202 > 199\) because there are 2 hundreds compared to 1 hundred. In this lesson, they compare quantities represented with base-ten diagrams to support students’ reasoning based on place value.

  • Engagement
  • MLR8

Learning Goals

Teacher Facing

  • Compare three-digit numbers by reasoning about the value of the digits.

Student Facing

  • Let’s use place value to compare three-digit numbers.

Required Preparation

CCSS Standards

Addressing

Lesson Timeline

Warm-up 10 min
Activity 1 15 min
Activity 2 20 min
Lesson Synthesis 10 min
Cool-down 5 min

Teacher Reflection Questions

Identify who has been sharing their ideas in class lately. Make a note of students whose ideas have not been shared and look for an opportunity for them to share their thinking in tomorrow’s lesson.

Suggested Centers

  • Mystery Number (1–4), Stage 2: Three-digit Numbers (Addressing)
  • Get Your Numbers in Order (1–5), Stage 1: Two-digit Numbers (Supporting)
  • Jump the Line (2–5), Stage 1: Add and Subtract within 100 (Supporting)

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