2nd Grade Number Words to Digits Worksheet: Write 14 Numbers up to 1,000

Read "four hundred nine" aloud to a seven-year-old and ask them to write it. Quite often you get 4009 or 49 on the paper, because the words and the digits do not line up the way a child expects. This 2nd grade number words to digits worksheet tackles that gap with fourteen number names in long blue bubbles. Each bubble is joined by a line to an empty box, and your child writes the number in digits inside it. The names run from thirty up to one thousand, with tricky ones like five hundred ten and six hundred along the way. Meanwhile, a cat and a dog peek over the top corner. A second page gives the answer key.

Why zero is the hidden star of this page

When your child writes a number from its name, they are doing place value in reverse. The word "hundred" says which digit goes first, then the rest of the name fills the tens and the ones.

However, the hard part is what the name leaves out. In "four hundred nine", nobody says "zero tens", yet a 0 must sit in the middle. Similarly, six hundred needs two zeros, and one thousand needs three. So the zero holds a place even when the words skip it.

The page mixes easy and tricky number names. For example, four hundred sixty-seven fills every place, while five hundred ten hides its zero at the end. Seeing both side by side shows your child that every place must be filled.

At the table: four hundred nine and six hundred

Start with eight hundred forty-eight at the top. Ask, "How many hundreds? How many tens? How many ones?" Then write it together, one digit per answer.

Four hundred nine is where most slips happen, since a child may write 49 or 4009. Instead of correcting, ask, "How many digits does a hundreds number need?" Let them count the places on their fingers.

Six hundred and one thousand test the zeros. Point to each one and ask, "Which places are empty here?"

Finally, thirty sits at the very end, and some children, warmed up by hundreds, write 300. Read the word again slowly with your child, then compare.

Checks, signs and a game of Go Fish

Number words still show up in grown-up life. When you write a check or read a wedding invitation, show your child the date or the amount written in words. Also, read road signs or house numbers aloud and let your child write them in digits on a notepad.

Go Fish works well with homemade cards of three-digit numbers. On half the cards, write in digits: 409, 510, 600. On the other half, write the matching names. Each player fishes for the pair: "Do you have four hundred nine?"

Once you finish the page, check it with the answer key and praise the care: "You remembered the zero every time. That is real place value."