How to use a hundreds chart: activities by age

By Colouring Nest · Published 28 October 2026 · Sources checked 28 October 2026

A hundreds chart is a 10 × 10 grid of the numbers 1 to 100, ten to a row. Because each row is one ten, moving one square right adds 1 and moving one square down adds 10. That makes it a picture of place value: children use it to count and find numbers at 4 or 5, to skip count and add tens at 6 or 7, to add and subtract two-digit numbers at 7 or 8, and to explore multiples and number patterns from about 8.

What does a hundreds chart show?

Every row holds one decade: 1 to 10, 11 to 20, and so on. Every column holds numbers with the same ones digit (except the last column, which holds the tens). So the chart shows at a glance that 37 is three rows of ten and seven more, and that 47 sits straight below it.

There are three common layouts, and each has a reason:

1 to 100 is the most common. It matches how children count, starting at 1.
0 to 99 puts every decade on its own row (the 30s are all in one row, starting with 30), which some teachers prefer for place value.
1 to 120 carries on past 100. Children often stall after 100, and seeing 101 to 120 under 1 to 20 shows that the pattern simply repeats.

What children learn with it, by year

The New Zealand curriculum gives a useful timeline. In Year 1 children count in 1s, 2s and 10s up to 100 and read and compare numbers to at least 100, using place value (17 is one ten and seven ones). In Year 2 they work with numbers to 120, count forwards and backwards in 1s, 2s, 5s and 10s from any number, and add and subtract by splitting numbers into tens and ones. In Year 3 they name the number 10 more or 10 less than any number to 100. A hundreds chart supports every one of these steps.

Hundreds chart activities by age

Ages 4 to 5: counting and finding numbers

Point and count along a row together, then down the last column: 10, 20, 30.
"Find your age", "find the number on our letterbox", "find 15". Talk about how you found it.
Colour the numbers you can already read. Add more each week.

Ages 5 to 7: patterns and skip counting

Colour every number you say when counting in 2s, then 5s, then 10s. The 10s make a column, the 5s two columns, the 2s stripes.
Cover a few numbers with counters or sticky notes and ask what is underneath. The numbers on each side, above and below are the clues.
Cut a chart into a jigsaw. NRICH, the University of Cambridge maths project, has a free 100 square jigsaw in four versions.

Ages 6 to 8: adding and subtracting

Practise "ten more" and "ten less": one square down, one square up.
Add two-digit numbers by moving down for the tens and right for the ones (below).
Find the difference between two numbers by counting the jumps between them.

Ages 8 to 10: multiples and number puzzles

Colour the multiples of 3. They form diagonal stripes. Try 4, 6 and 9, and predict before colouring.
Shade numbers that are in both the 2s and 3s patterns. What do you notice? (They are the multiples of 6.)
Try NRICH's Hundred Square problem: if a chart is printed on both sides of the paper, which number is behind 58?

How to add on a hundreds chart

Take 34 + 23:

Put a finger on 34.
Split 23 into 2 tens and 3 ones.
Move down two rows for the tens: 44, 54.
Move right three squares for the ones: 55, 56, 57.
Say the sum as a sentence: "34 plus 23 is 57."

When the ones jump goes past the end of a row (for 38 + 5), carry on at the start of the next row: 39, 40, then 41, 42, 43. That wrap-around is exactly the moment a new ten is made, so it's worth slowing down and saying it out loud.

How to subtract on a hundreds chart

For 72 − 25, start on 72, move up two rows for the tens (62, 52), then left five squares for the ones (51, 50, 49, 48, 47). The answer is 47. Children can also count up from 25 to 72 and add up the jumps, which is often easier and shows that subtraction can be read as a difference.

Hundreds chart or number line?

Use both. A number line shows numbers as distances along a line, which suits measuring, rounding and fractions later on. A hundreds chart shows the structure of tens and ones, which suits mental adding and subtracting. Children who can move between the two understand numbers to 100 well.

Common mistakes to watch for

Going the wrong way. Some children move up for "ten more". Agree a rule ("bigger numbers are lower down") and check it with a known fact.
Counting the starting square. For 34 + 3, the first jump lands on 35, not 34.
Stopping at the end of a row. Practise the wrap from 40 to 41 and 99 to 100 on its own.
Counting every square. If a child counts 1s to add 20, show the two-row jump and practise it.

Questions people ask

What is a hundreds chart used for?

Counting to 100, reading and finding numbers, skip counting, seeing the tens and ones in every number, adding and subtracting tens and ones mentally, and later spotting multiples and number patterns.

How do you use a hundreds chart for multiplication?

Colour the multiples of a number by skip counting: every third square for the 3s, every fourth for the 4s. The coloured pattern shows the times table, and comparing two patterns shows common multiples.

What is the difference between a hundreds chart and a hundreds board?

Nothing important. A hundreds board is usually a physical board with pegs or tiles, and a hundreds chart is printed. Both show 1 to 100 in rows of ten.

At what age should a child use a hundreds chart?

From about 4 or 5 for counting and finding numbers, and through to about 10 for multiples and number puzzles. New Zealand children work with numbers to 100 in Year 1, which starts at age 5.