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Ten Times the Place to Its Right

A 50-minute Grade 4 lesson on the rule that generates the whole place value system: each place is worth ten of the place beside it, which is why digits move rather than change.

Ten Times the Place to Its Right is a free 50-minute Grade 4 maths lesson plan for Common Core standard 4.NBT.A.1 — understand how place value works in big numbers. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the mathematics, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.

Grade:
Grade 4
Length:
50 minutes
Standard:
4.NBT.A.1

Grade 4 · Number & Operations in Base Ten

4.NBT.A.1

Recognize that in a multi-digit whole number, a digit in one place represents ten times what it represents in the place to its right.

Objective

Students will be able to explain that a digit in one place represents ten times what it represents in the place to its right.

Students are successful when they can

  • States the value of a digit, not just the digit.
  • Says how many times greater the 4 in 4,000 is than the 4 in 400.
  • Writes a number in expanded form.

What you need

  • Place value charts to hundred thousands
  • Base ten materials, or cards showing each place's value
  • Digit cards
  • The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan

The lesson

Warm-up — what is that digit worth?

6 min
  1. Show 5,382 and point at each digit in turn. Ask for its value, not its name.
  2. Five thousand, three hundred, eighty, two. Saying 'eight' for the 8 is the habit being broken.

Teach — one rule, all the way along

15 min
  1. Lay out the place value chart. Ten ones make a ten; ten tens make a hundred; ten hundreds make a thousand.
  2. Say the rule once: every place is ten times the place on its right, all the way up.
  3. Write 4,000 and 400. Both have a 4. Ask how many times bigger the first 4 is worth. Ten.
  4. Now 4,000 and 40. Two places apart, so a hundred times.
  5. Write 5,382 in expanded form: 5,000 + 300 + 80 + 2. The expanded form is just the values written out.
  6. Finish with 66,000 and ask what each 6 is worth and how they relate.
“The digit does not change. Where it sits changes what it is worth, and every step to the left multiplies it by ten.”

Guided practice — value, not digit

14 min
  1. Pairs take a number card and state the value of each digit.
  2. They then answer comparison questions: how many times greater is this 7 than that one.
  3. Finally they write the number in expanded form and read it back.

Independent practice

12 min
  1. Students complete a place value page.
  2. Answers naming the digit rather than its value are the diagnostic and are easy to miss when marking quickly.

Close

3 min
  1. Write 3,300 and ask how the two 3s relate.
  2. One is ten times the other, and the pupils should now say it without prompting.

What goes wrong, and why

Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.

Says the 8 in 5,382 is worth 8.

Why: The digit is being read as itself, which is how digits have been read in every other context. Position has not yet been given a value of its own.

Fix: Build the number with place value cards that show 80 rather than 8. The card cannot be misread.

Says the 4 in 4,000 is a thousand times the 4 in 400.

Why: The word 'thousand' is present in the number and has been used as the multiplier, without counting the places between.

Fix: Count the places. One step left, one factor of ten. The count answers it and the number name does not.

Writes 5,382 in expanded form as 5 + 3 + 8 + 2.

Why: Expanded form has been read as separating the digits rather than as writing out their values.

Fix: Add the pupil's own expansion up. Eighteen is visibly not 5,382, and the correction is theirs.

If they are not there yet

  • Work to thousands before extending to hundred thousands.
  • Use place value cards that physically show 300 and 80, so the value is on the card rather than in the pupil's head.

If they finish early

  • Explain what happens to a number's digits when it is multiplied by 10.
  • Compare a digit's value in two numbers that are three places apart.
  • Extend the rule rightwards into tenths and hundredths.

Exit ticket

In 7,742, what is each 7 worth? How many times greater is the first than the second?

What to look for: 7,000 and 700, ten times. 'Seven and seven' means digits are still being read at face value; 'a thousand times' means the places were not counted.

Printable practice for 4.NBT.A.1

Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.

Questions about Ten Times the Place to Its Right

How long does the Ten Times the Place to Its Right lesson take?

50 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 6 min, teach 15 min, guided practice 14 min, independent practice 12 min, close 3 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.

Which standard does Ten Times the Place to Its Right teach?

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.NBT.A.1 — 4.NBT.A.1, Number & Operations in Base Ten for Grade 4: “Recognize that in a multi-digit whole number, a digit in one place represents ten times what it represents in the place to its right.” In plain terms, understand how place value works in big numbers.

What do I need to teach this lesson?

Place value charts to hundred thousands, base ten materials, or cards showing each place's value, digit cards and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.

What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?

Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: says the 8 in 5,382 is worth 8; says the 4 in 4,000 is a thousand times the 4 in 400 and writes 5,382 in expanded form as 5 + 3 + 8 + 2. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.

How do I know whether the lesson worked?

The exit ticket asks: “In 7,742, what is each 7 worth? How many times greater is the first than the second?.” 7,000 and 700, ten times. 'Seven and seven' means digits are still being read at face value; 'a thousand times' means the places were not counted. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.

Is there a worksheet to go with Ten Times the Place to Its Right?

Yes — 2 printable 4.NBT.A.1 worksheets, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.

Is Ten Times the Place to Its Right free to use?

Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on 5 September 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 4.NBT.A.1 of the Common Core State Standards for mathematics.