Ohio Assessments for Educators (OAE) Early Childhood Practice Exam

A student miswrites the numbers from words as shown (Fifty-six --> 506, Twenty-five --> 205). What activity would best help the student improve?

1. Practicing basic math facts

2. Reviewing the concept of "0" as a placeholder when writing numerals

3. Using unit cubes to represent numbers in base 5

4. Arranging groups of base 10 blocks and writing the numerals represented

The correct answer is: Arranging groups of base 10 blocks and writing the numerals represented

Using base 10 blocks provides a hands-on approach that allows the student to visualize the numerical value of tens and ones. When a student miswrites numbers from words, it often indicates a misunderstanding of place value and the importance of digit positioning in the formation of numbers. By arranging groups of base 10 blocks, the student can more clearly see how numbers are constructed—each block representing a specific value (for example, one block for a unit, ten blocks combined for a ten, etc.). This physical manipulation also reinforces the concept that the digit's position affects its value; for instance, the difference between 56 (5 in the tens place and 6 in the ones place) and 506 (5 in the hundreds place, 0 in the tens place, and 6 in the ones place). Through this activity, the student gains a better understanding of how to write numbers correctly from their word forms, connecting mathematical concepts to tangible physical representations. The other options focus on different skills or concepts—such as practicing basic facts or understanding the numeral "0" as a placeholder—yet do not directly address the core issue of miswriting numbers from words, making the use of base 10 blocks the most effective choice for remediation in this case