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      Securing understanding of place value in integers

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can state the value of any digit in a given integer.

      Key learning points

      1. It is difficult to know what a digit represents if you do not know its place value.
      2. An integer can be written as the sum of the place value of its digits.
      3. Rearranging the digits in an integer can alter its overall value.

      Keywords

      • Digit - A digit is one of the symbols of a number system. In our number system we use the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.

      • Integer - An integer is any positive or negative whole number or zero. E.g. -2, 0, 153 are all examples of integers.

      Common misconception

      Pupils may think the digit card 0 has to have significant place value.

      If the question doesn't specify the number of digits, leading zeros can be used (and not written) to create integers with fewer digits.

      Teacher tip

      You may wish to print the relevant digit cards for pupils to manipulate. Laminate for future use. Whilst leading zeros can be used to make a smaller integer, these are not written as part of the integer and do not contribute to the number of digits.

      Licence

      This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0
      except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions
      (Collection 2).

      Lesson video

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      Prior knowledge starter quiz

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      How many different digits are there in our number system?

      Correct Answer: 10, ten

      Q2.
      What is the missing value in this partitioning model?

      An image in a quiz
      Correct Answer: 90

      Q3.
      What is the value of the digit 5 in the number 25 381

      5
      50
      500
      Correct answer: 5000
      50 000

      Q4.
      Which of these are integers?

      0.5
      Correct answer: 2429
      Correct answer: 0
      $$1\over4$$
      Correct answer: -7

      Q5.
      Starting with the smallest, sort these integers into ascending order.

      1 - 133
      2 - 301
      3 - 310
      4 - 311
      5 - 313
      6 - 331

      Q6.
      Match the integer to the multiple of 1000 it is closest to.

      Correct Answer:15 621,16 000

      16 000

      Correct Answer:15 394,15 000

      15 000

      Correct Answer:13 501,14 000

      14 000

      Correct Answer:13 099,13 000

      13 000

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Using the digit cards, make the largest 6-digit integer possible

      An image in a quiz
      Correct Answer: 887 430, 887430

      Q2.
      Which of these integers are written with correct spacing?

      2 423
      Correct answer: 5006
      34000
      7 0000
      Correct answer: 6 320 041

      Q3.
      Starting with the smallest, sort these integers into ascending order.

      1 - 8099
      2 - 8909
      3 - 9089
      4 - 9098
      5 - 9908
      6 - 9980

      Q4.
      Match the integers with the calculations

      Correct Answer:2032,$$3\times 10 + 2\times1+2\times1000$$

      $$3\times 10 + 2\times1+2\times1000$$

      Correct Answer:2230,$$30+200+2000$$

      $$30+200+2000$$

      Correct Answer:2302,$$2\times 1000 + 3\times 100 +2$$

      $$2\times 1000 + 3\times 100 +2$$

      Correct Answer:2320,$$2000+20+300$$

      $$2000+20+300$$

      Correct Answer:3022,$$2\times10 +2\times1 +3\times 1000$$

      $$2\times10 +2\times1 +3\times 1000$$

      Q5.
      How many unique integers can be made from these digits?

      An image in a quiz
      Correct Answer: 12, twelve

      Q6.
      Which statements are true for the integer 3830?

      Correct answer: The value of the integer stays the same if the 1000s and 10s digits are swapped
      The smallest 4-digit integer can be made by swapping the 10s and 100s digits
      Correct answer: The value of the integer decreases if the 10s and 1s digits are swapped
      The value of the integer stays the same if the first and last digits are swapped

      To help you plan your 7 maths lesson on: Securing understanding of place value in integers, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...