Place Value Charts: Place Value Relationships [TEKS Tools Grade 3]

This post specifically looks at how place value charts can be used to understand place value and compose/decompose numbers. Read more about TEKS Tools and their rationale here.

PlAce Value Charts

Place value charts, the third TEKS Tool, account for around 13% of each 3rd grade STAAR test. These charts help students understand our base-10 number system.

The main function of a place value chart is to show the relationship between place value locations in our number system. By visualizing numbers on a place value chart, students can compose, decompose, compare, and order numbers and understand place value magnitude.

Composing/Decomposing

Students deeply understand place value when they can rewrite numbers as the sum of smaller amounts based on various place value understandings.

3.2A - compose and decompose numbers up to 100,000 as a sum of so many ten thousands, so many thousands, so many hundreds, so many tens, and so many ones using objects, pictorial models, and numbers, including expanded notation as appropriate

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2023-28: students were given a number to decompose in word form

2024-30: students were given a number to decompose in unit form

2025-1: students were given a number to decompose in standard form (twice)

2025-24: students were given a number in unit form to compose

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Understanding Place Value Relationships

The magnitude of each place value, especially when the locations are not adjacent, can be visualized using a place value chart.

3.2B - describe the mathematical relationships found in the base-10 place value system through the hundred thousands place

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2023-20: students were given representations for three quantities and asked to find the two that were equivalent

2024-4: students were given a number and asked to interpret the relationship between two of the digits

2025-27: students were given a number and asked to interpret the relationship between several of the digits