Place value understanding is one of those foundational skills that gets me every year. If you’re like me, you pay way too much attention to NBT.2, choosing to focus on reading and writing numerals, names and expanded form. I think it’s because it’s one of the easiest parts to assess. Can you write this number 3 different ways?It’s the difference between “doing” math and “understanding” math, which is what the Common Core is all about, right? The essence of the place value standards is to build a