100 square
A 100 square to play with: colour the 2s, 5s or 7s and see their patterns, find hidden numbers and solve a mystery number. Print one for the fridge too.
- 5
- 10
- 15
- 20
- 25
- 30
- 35
- 40
- 45
- 50
- 55
- 60
- 65
- 70
- 75
- 80
- 85
- 90
- 95
- 100
Pick a number to count in.
Patterns to spot
A 100 square is ten wide, so counting in any number makes a shape. Some are straight lines, some slant, and some hop about. Try them above with Count and colour.
The 10s
One straight column down the end: every number ending in 0.
The 5s
Two columns, ending in 5 and 0. Half of them are also in the 10s.
The 2s
Every other column: the even numbers.
The 9s
A diagonal slanting down to the left. The tens go up as the ones go down: 18, 27, 36, 45.
The 3s
Slanting lines. Add the digits of any of them and you get 3, 6 or 9 (or 12, 15, 18).
The 7s
No straight lines at all: each is one row down and three squares left. That’s why the 7s take longest to learn.
When children use it
In England’s National Curriculum, the 100 square goes with counting and place value from Year 1 to Year 3:
- Year 1
- Counting to and across 100, forwards and backwards, counting in 2s, 5s and 10s, and finding one more and one less.
- Year 2
- Tens and ones in two-digit numbers, and counting in 2s, 3s and 5s, and in 10s from any number.
- Year 3
- Finding 10 or 100 more or less than a number.
Five games for the printed one
What’s under the coin?
Cover a number with a coin. Your child works out what’s underneath from the numbers around it.
Race to 100
Take turns rolling a dice and moving a counter on that many. Land on a number in the 10s and jump down a row.
Ten more, ten less
Call a number and a direction: “34, ten more!” They point straight down to 44.
100 square jigsaw
Cut a printed one into chunky pieces and put it back together. Each piece only fits where its numbers belong.
Fill the blanks
Print the blank one and fill it in together, a row at a time. Spot what stays the same down each column.
More to try
Questions about the 100 square
What is a 100 square?
A grid of the numbers 1 to 100 in rows of ten. Each row is a new ten, so going along a row adds 1 and going down a column adds 10. It turns place value into something children can see and point at.
Should it start at 0 or 1?
Both are used in schools. 1 to 100 is the most common. A 0 to 99 grid keeps every number in a row with the same tens digit, which some teachers prefer for place value. This one runs 1 to 100, like most 100 squares children see in class.
How do you add on a 100 square?
To add 23 to 45, start at 45, jump down 2 rows for the 20 (55, 65), then along 3 for the 3 (66, 67, 68). Taking away works the same way, going up and back.
What age is it for?
Mostly Reception to Year 3, while children learn to count to 100, count in steps and add mentally. Older children use it to spot times table patterns.
Numbers that make sense
Thena draws place value, counting and adding on her board as she explains it, the way your child’s school teaches it.
Try 3 lessons free