3D Hundreds Chart

The Makers of the “3D Hundreds Chart” designed a tool to help students visualize and experience their learning of base-10 concepts and rounding numbers to the nearest tens place. The Makers explain, “If a child is asked to estimate the number 6 to the nearest tenth, they can use [the] manipulative to fill 6 small individually carved out spaces to be able to see there are only 4 spaces more to get to 10 and 6 spaces to go back to zero… By inserting manipulatives into the individually carved out spaces on the chart, [students are] able to see where a particular number falls to understand if the number should be rounded up or down to the nearest tenth.” This type of problem is facilitated by interaction with the manipulative, as it was created to assist the students through productive struggle in order to develop their own strategies to find  solutions. Another important aspect of tool is that the “‘3D Hundreds Chart’ allows the user to understand numbers in a variety of ways including understanding numbers as individual units of ones and also understanding numbers as groups of tens.” This is a vital concept for students to learn in order to understand place value and other subsequent mathematical ideas.