Place Value Problems and Activities with Cows .... Yes, Cows!

Early Childhood Math Challenge:

Farmer Brown had 17 cows. He can fit 10 cows in each pen.  How many pens will he need to build for his 17 cows? Explain your thinking using a visual model.

What if he has 36 cows? 54 cows? Is there a way to know the number of pens by just looking at the number? If there is, explain your thinking to someone using a visual model.

** Challenge - what if he has 138 cows? How many pens would he need? Can you figure this out by just looking at the number? Explain how you found your solution.

Upper Elementary Math Challenge:

 Harriet is a Holstein cow. She's an average adult, 4 ½ feet tall, about 6 feet long from nose to rump, and about 3 feet wide. She also weighs a healthy 1,500 pounds.

If we had 5 cows arranged in a line, what would the dimensions be?

                 How much would they weigh?What about 72 cows?How about 1 million cows?

Featured Resources:

Video Clip:

The common misconception with place value understanding.

Article: How to promote a deep understanding of place value.

Activity (Grades K-3): Place Value Activity

Activity (Upper Grades): Making Your First Million