The goal of this study was to describe characteristic stages in the development of children's understanding of place value. Sixty children (15 in each grade, 2 through 5) at 5 elementary schools in Butte County, California, were individually administered 18 tasks designed to reveal their thinking about place value and part-whole relations. On six…

Two major ways to view the numbers to 100 are counting by ones and grouping by tens and ones. Research suggests that early understanding of numbers comes from counting and that place value instruction cannot be hurried. (PK)