Engage your first graders with this hands-on base 10 snowflake craft! Perfect for winter math, this place value activity makes learning tens and ones fun and festive. Students will have fun creating this fun snowflake craft while mastering essential place value skills.

Why This Place Value Craft Works for First Grade

First graders learn best when they can see, touch, and create. This winter math craft helps make place value concepts concrete and visual for students. Instead of just writing numbers on a worksheet, students build beautiful snowflakes while reinforcing their understanding of tens and ones.

Here’s what makes this base 10 activity special:

Hands-on learning – Students physically manipulate base 10 bocks to represent numbers, which is exactly what students need to grasp place value concepts.

Visual representation – The snowflake design creates a clear, memorable image that helps students understand how tens and ones work together to make numbers.

Built-in engagement – Fun seasonal themes are naturally motivating for young learners. When math activities look like art, students don’t even realize how hard they’re working!

Standards-aligned – This place value activity directly supports first grade math standards. There are also two response pages included so you can choose the option that best supports your students.

What’s Included

This ready-to-use resource takes the guesswork out of lesson planning. You’ll receive:

• Easy-to-follow teacher instructions with step-by-step guidance
• Base 10 visual aids that students can cut and arrange to create a snowflake
• Student recording sheets to document their mathematical thinking with two different options

Prep time? Minimal. Just print, prep your materials, and you’re ready to bring winter math magic to your classroom!

How to Use This Base 10 Craft in Your First Grade Classroom

This craft can be used in different ways during your math block. Here are a few ideas:

Whole Group Math Lesson: Model the process together, then have students create their snowflake as you circulate and support.

Math Centers: Set this up as an independent or partner activity during math centers.

Early Finisher Activity: Keep extra templates and worksheets on hand for students who complete other work early. They’ll stay engaged while practicing important skills and can challenge themselves with bigger numbers.

Simple Lesson Plan for Base 10 Snowflake Craft

Here is a simple outline of the lesson that can be copy and pasted for your plans!

1. Review base 10 concepts as a class and model how to represent a number with the snowflake design
2. Have students choose or assign a target number to represent with their snowflake
3. Students create their snowflake using tens and ones
4. Complete the recording sheet to show their mathematical thinking.
5. Display finished snowflakes for a beautiful winter math bulletin board!

Learning Outcomes Your Students Will Achieve

This isn’t just a cute craft—it’s rigorous math practice disguised as winter fun. Students will:

• Represent two-digit numbers using base 10 blocks (tens and ones)
• Understand that two-digit numbers are composed of tens and ones
• Practice counting by tens and ones with hands-on materials
• Develop fine motor skills through cutting and gluing
• Follow multi-step directions independently
• Express mathematical thinking through visual representation

Plus, you’ll have adorable snowflakes to display in the hallway that show the school and parents exactly what their children are learning!

More First Grade Math Activities

First Grade Math Journals Made Easy

Celebrating the 120th Day of School

Printable Double Ten Frame Worksheet for Math

Base 10 Snowflake Craft

Ready to engage your first graders with this hands-on base 10 snowflake craft? Head to my TPT store and download this resource NOW!