The big ideaAn empty row is zero. Zero holds the place, so ten has none below.
How it works
No beads at all is zero.
On the frame, an empty row means zero.
Zero holds the place: in forty, the empty bottom row keeps the four in the tens.
An empty row shows zero.
Example 1: An empty bowl
Show your child an empty bowl or an empty hand.
Ask: how many beads are in it? None at all.
No beads is zero.
Example 2: Ten
Slide one bead across on the tens row.
Leave the ones row empty. That is zero ones.
One ten and zero ones make ten.
One ten and zero ones.
Example 3: Forty
Slide four beads across on the tens row.
Leave the bottom row empty. The zero keeps the four in the tens.
Four tens and zero ones make forty.
Four tens and zero ones.
Words to know
zero
No beads at all.
empty
Nothing is inside.
holds the place
Zero keeps the other number in its own row.
Watch out
Zero is a number, just like all the others.
An empty row is zero, not one.
In forty, the zero keeps the four in the tens.
Try it
How many beads are in an empty bowl?
What does an empty row on the frame mean?
Forty is how many tens and how many ones?
Does the zero in forty keep the four in the tens?
Answers: 1. zero · 2. zero · 3. four tens and zero ones · 4. yes
Try at homeAsk a grown-up to help you find something with nothing in it, like an empty cup or an empty hand. Say how many are inside. Zero! Then count down from five, and say zero at the end.
For grown-upsLook for something empty at home, like a cup or a hand, and say how many are inside: zero. Then count down from five and say zero at the end.
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