Numbers and place value
Year 2 · Maths
Explore numbers, spot patterns and explain how you worked it out.
Choose a game
Take your time, try a game and collect stars.
Tens and ones
Quiz race on the place value of digits in two-digit numbers. Free Year 2 maths game.
Play Tens and onesOrdering numbers to 100
Put numbers to 100 in order, smallest or largest first. Free Year 2 maths game.
Play Ordering numbers to 100
Learning about numbers and place value
In this Year 2 maths collection, you can practise Tens and ones, Ordering numbers to 100. Choose a game above for a short activity, or explore the examples below before you play. The full guide for each game explains its controls, gives more examples and includes a free printable for practice away from the screen.
Talk it through
Use counters, a drawing or a number line before moving to a mental method. Ask your child to explain a choice, then change one number and try the method again.
Ask: “How could you show the same answer another way?” Give your child time to explain. Return to an example after playing and ask whether they would approach it differently.
Tens and ones
Place value is the idea that a digit's value depends on where it is in a number. In the two-digit number 47, the 4 is in the tens place and is worth 40, while the 7 is in the ones place and is worth 7. Year 2 pupils learn to recognise the place value of each digit in a two-digit number.
Try an example: What is the value of the 6 in 63?
The 6 is in the tens place, so it means 6 tens.
Show the answer
60
What to look out for
Saying the 4 in 47 is worth 4. Ask 'four what?' The answer is four tens, which is 40.
Ordering numbers to 100
Comparing and ordering numbers means deciding which is bigger or smaller and putting several numbers in order. Year 2 pupils compare and order numbers from 0 up to 100 and use the signs < (less than), > (greater than) and =.
Try an example: Put 34, 43, 9, 70, 38 in order, smallest first.
9 has no tens, so it is smallest. Then 34 and 38 (3 tens; 4 ones before 8 ones), then 43, then 70.
Show the answer
9, 34, 38, 43, 70
What to look out for
Thinking 19 is bigger than 31 because 9 is a big digit. Build both numbers with tens and ones. 31 has 3 tens; 19 has only 1.
Practise away from the screen
- Use 10p and 1p coins: make 36p in as few coins as possible.
- Pick five cards from a pack of 0 to 9 digit cards, make two-digit numbers and put them in order.
Curriculum connections
These games support selected practice connected to Place value in the National Curriculum in England. Use your school’s sequence to decide when to introduce and revisit each skill. A game covers selected examples, rather than assessing every requirement.
Questions families ask
Where should we start with numbers and place value?
Start with Tens and ones. Look at the worked example together, then try a round. If the task feels unfamiliar, use the full game guide or its free printable before trying again.
Does this cover everything taught at this level?
No. This collection brings together the games currently available for this learning area. It supports selected skills and does not replace the full programme of study or practical teaching.