If you’re searching for engaging and hands-on base ten activities for your first grade classroom, you’ll love our Place Value Stacking Cups. This interactive activity uses number-labeled cups and base ten block visuals to help students understand tens and ones in a way that’s both visual and tactile. Teaching place value doesn’t have to be boring — in fact, it can be stacked with fun!
Be sure to check out 20 Most Popular Place Value Games and Printables after you grab these stacking cups!
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Place Value Stacking Cups are a classroom activity designed to build foundational number sense. Students are given a set of paper cups labeled with different two-digit numbers. Using printable task cards with base ten block illustrations (representing tens and ones), students match the correct number to the image — then stack the corresponding cup in the correct position to match the picture.
I recommend using these cups to meet 1st grade math standard: 1.NBT.B.2: Understand that the two digits of a two-digit number represent amounts of tens and ones and subsequent place value standards. The cups can also be used with kindergarten and early second grade.
This activity not only reinforces counting and number identification but also strengthens your students’ understanding of the base ten system. And let’s face it, anything involving stacking cups is an instant win in the classroom!
Simple setup, powerful learning.
Base ten activities are essential for developing number sense in the early grades, but they don’t have to be repetitive or worksheet-heavy. Our Place Value Stacking Cups bring a new level of excitement to place value practice and make math centers something your students look forward to.
Ready to stack up the learning? Grab your Place Value Stacking Cups below! Bundle to save.
If your students love Place Value Stacking Cups, don’t stop there. We’ve created a whole series of cup stacking resources that turn skill practice into exciting, interactive play:
Each one is designed with the same hands-on, stackable format that makes learning stick. Fun fact: the addition and subtraction sets use the SAME CUPS. So the prep is halved!
Children are building subtraction fact fluency in kindergarten and first grade. This means they need to know and practice their subtracts "facts" quickly. How can we motivate children to practice their subtraction facts? I can tell you, it's definitely not with a subtraction facts worksheet. Just the thought makes me cringe!
Success comes through playing games like these Subtract and Stack Challenges. I've made 5 different sets of challenges that cover subtractions facts in three ranges:
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To get to the nitty gritty, subtraction facts to 10 are any equation where something is subtracted from a number 10 or lower.
Subtraction facts to 20 are anytime a number is subtracted from 20 and the difference is a 1 digit number.
So technically, 20-5= 15 is not a subtraction fact, but 20-15=5 is a subtraction fact!
Fluency is the ability to perform an action quickly, almost to the point of automaticity. Subtraction fact fluency is another way to say the ability to do subtraction problems quickly.
The word fluency also shows up in the common core math standards such as in this first grade standard you'll see printed on the stacking challenges:
"1.OA.6 Add and subtract within 20 demonstrating fluency for subtraction within 10."
As children do more and more fun subtraction challenges, they build their fact fluency!
We all love a good print and play activity, and these subtraction stacking cups are the cream of the crop.
If you've already purchased my Addition Stacking cups activities, then you can use those EXACT same cups for both challenges. Want them? When you check out there is an option to bundle the addition and subtraction fact fluency challenges (40 total) for a discount. It's too good!
Then you'll have 10 sets of ready-to-go addition and subtraction activities for kindergarten and first grade, that you have prepped in a total of 5 minutes maximum. Did I mention they include answer keys so kids can self check?
The Addition Cup Stack builds fact fluency to 6, 10, and 20 through hands-on fun that no child can resist. Just print the 20 differentiated addition challenges for students of all abilities and grab your cups.
*As an amazon affiliate I may receive a teensy commission if you buy something from one of the links in this post, at no additional cost to you. Thank you.
It's all in the name. Add the numbers on the sheet, and then stack the cup with the matching number.
Kids will build many cup towers while mastering addition, in a ridiculously fun activity that they'll beg to play. Believe me, I had to pry my children off these cups in order to take the pictures in this post.
The 5 differentiated sets of stacking challenges are made to meet the needs of learners at varying levels. Choose from adding to 6, to 10, or to 20 for a super challenge.
As a very loose guideline, this is how I use the cups:
Print out the 5 sets of challenges. Each will come with an answer key, so that kids can self check as they build, making this activity perfect for an independent math center.
To make the activity as kid run as possible, I laminated each set with its Answer Key on the back. So children will be able to self-check when they have completed a challenge.
You know how sometimes you buy an activity and you just never use it because it's too complicated to do? This is the COMPLETE opposite. Easiest. Prep. Ever.
These cups will be used for sets 1 and 2. Both sets work on sums to 6. (So for one child, you could use the same cups for sets 1 and 2.)
These cups will be used for sets 3 and 4. Kids will make sums to 10 here. (Again, if you'd like to reduce waste, you can just use one set of cups for these.)
These cups are for the final set 5, for practicing sums to 20.
To avoid the cups from getting mixed up in my classroom, I have written the numbers in different colored markers that match the set number on the challenge sheet. This way kids with the same numbers on their cups won't fight over whose is whose. -Phew!-
You'll get:
Peep that bonus to add the subtraction stacking cups for a discount when you bundle!
Addition Cup Stack meets the common core standards for kindergarten and first grade.
Kindergarten Operations and Algebraic Thinking K.OA
Understand addition as putting together and adding to, and understand subtraction as taking apart and taking from.
First Grade Operations and Algebraic Thinking 1.OA
Represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction
Besides the obvious, addition, kids are learning how to plan out how to move things in space otherwise called motor planning.
According to TheOTToolbox.com, motor planning is "the ability to plan out, organize, and carry out an action." In this case it is the ability to think about how to stack the cups to match each challenge. Will the cups need to be flipped? Right side up? How can we balance them on top of one another?
As adults this might seem really simple, but many young children benefit greatly from activities that involve fine motor planning, like this free printable STEM challenge.
Did you love this addition STEM challenge? I know I did!
I've finally finished the subtraction cups that use the SAME numbered cups we have already prepped. So you'll just need to print and be on your merry way. Does that count as a life hack?
The original cup stacking challenge that inspired addition cups is actually a reading activity that went viral this year (2023). So if you're working on sounding out CVC words (consonant vowel consonant words), then be sure to check out this activity as well. I even included cups for the digraphs sh and ch to keep your kiddos challenged.
