standard_description: Understand that the three digits of a three-digit number represent amounts of hundreds, tens, and ones; e.g., 706 equals 7 hundreds, 0 tens, and 6 ones. Understand the following as special cases:
- 100 can be thought of as a bundle of ten tens — called a “hundred.”
- The numbers 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 refer to one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine hundreds (and 0 tens and 0 ones).
problem_activity: Stage 3: 20 Cubes
Required Preparation
Materials to Gather
Connecting cubes
Materials to Copy
Blackline Masters
What's Behind My Back Stage 3 Recording Sheet

Narrative
Students work with 20 cubes, organized into two towers of 10 cubes. One partner snaps the towers and puts one part behind their back and shows the other part to their partner. Their partner figures out how many cubes are behind their back. Students record an addition equation with a blank to represent the missing cubes.
Additional Information
Each group of 2 needs 20 connecting cubes.


aligns: no