The big ideaRead the frame from the top row down. An empty row still counts.
How it works
Read a frame from the top row down: the hundreds, then the tens, then the ones.
An empty row is a zero. It still counts, so say it.
Say each row's count with its name, like two hundreds and seven ones.
That is how you read 207 and not 27.
How to read a frame.The same beads the wrong way round show 702, a different number.
Example 1: Three hundred five
Top row: three beads, three hundreds.
Middle row: none, zero tens.
Bottom row: five beads, five ones.
Three hundreds, no tens and five ones is 305.
305: the empty tens row is a zero.
Example 2: An empty ones row
Top row: seven beads, seven hundreds.
Middle row: four beads, four tens.
Bottom row: none, zero ones.
The number is 740, not 74.
740: the empty ones row is a zero.
Example 3: Skipping the zero
Mia read two, seven and wrote 27 on the order slip.
She had skipped the empty tens row.
The frame really shows 207, so the school needed 207 hats, not 27.
The slip was 180 too small: 207 − 27 = 180.
Example 4: Make 608
Six beads on the top row.
Leave the middle row empty.
Eight beads on the bottom row.
Six hundreds, no tens and eight ones is 608.
608: the tens row holds the place.
Words to know
hundreds row
The top row of the frame. Read it first.
zero
An empty row. It still holds its place.
digit
One numeral in a number. Each row gives one digit.
read
Say the count on each row with its name, from the top down.
Watch out
Start at the top row, not the bottom row.
Do not skip an empty row. 207 is not 27.
Do not count every bead as one. 2 + 0 + 7 = 9, but the frame shows 207.
The rows the other way round make a different number: 207 and 702.
Try it
Which row do we read first?
Five hundreds, no tens and two ones. Which number?
Four hundreds, six tens and no ones. Which number?
Why is two hundreds, no tens and seven ones not written 27?
Answers: 1. The top row · 2. 502 · 3. 460 · 4. The zero keeps the tens place
Try at homeAsk a grown-up to help you find numbers with three digits, like on a book, a box or a bill. Read each one from the left, naming the hundreds, then the tens, then the ones, and watch out for a zero in the middle!
For grown-upsSpot three-digit numbers on a book, a box or a bill. Read each one from the left, naming the hundreds, then the tens, then the ones, and say any zero in the middle.
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