Grade 3 Place Value Worksheets — 4-Digit Numbers PDF
Third grade moves from counting columns to naming the value a digit carries. In 4738 the 7 is not seven and it is not the hundreds column — it is worth 700. Grade 3 offers seven separate sheets across the four-digit range: Digits and Places, Value of a Digit, Expanded Form, Number Words, Comparing Numbers, Ordering Numbers and More and Less.
Every number a question names a digit in is built from four different digits, so "the digit 7" can only mean one position and there is never an ambiguous question. Choose the sheet, then a level within it — Digits and Places runs "Which digit is in this place", "Which place is this digit in" and "How many of a place in all", and the other six have three of their own. Size the sheet and print with or without the answer key.
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Place Value · Grade 3
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Grade 3 · 2 pages · A4More Grade 3 place value skills
Each one generates a different kind of question, with its own three levels and answer key.
- Digits and PlacesFind which digit sits in a place, and which place a digit sits in.
- Value of a DigitSay what a digit is worth, not just which column it sits in.
- Expanded FormWrite a number as the sum of what each of its digits is worth.
- Number WordsRead and write numbers in words as well as in digits.
- Comparing NumbersDecide which of two numbers is greater, working from the biggest place.
- Ordering NumbersPut three numbers in order, smallest first or largest first.
- More and LessJump ten, a hundred or a thousand more or less without counting on.
What each level generates
Grade 3 digits and places — the exact skill behind each difficulty setting, straight from the generator.
- Level 1Which digit is in this place
- Level 2Which place is this digit in
- Level 3How many of a place in all
Grade levels follow the progression common to most English-language curricula — not one specific national curriculum. Every level shows exactly what it generates, so you can check the fit with your own program. See the full scope & sequence →
From column names to digit values
Grade 2 asks which column a digit is in; Grade 3 asks what it is worth. That shift is small in wording and large in understanding, and the Value of a Digit sheet drills it: "what is the value of the digit 7 in 4738?" has the answer 700, not 7 and not "hundreds". Students who answer with the column name have half the idea and need the multiplying-by-the-place step made explicit. Its later levels run the question backwards — given the value, name the digit — and then ask what two digits are worth together. Digits and Places is the easier neighbour if the column names themselves are still shaky.
A good way to teach it is the two-step reading: name the place, then write the digit followed by that many zeros. Seven in the hundreds place means 7 followed by two zeros. By the end of the year a student should be able to state the value of any digit in a four-digit number and write that number in expanded form without support.
Expanded form and comparing thousands
Expanded Form asks for 4738 as 4000 + 700 + 30 + 8, then gives the sum and asks for the number, then blanks out one term. The backwards directions catch a specific error — students who can decompose but stumble when recomposing usually rely on reading the digits rather than adding the values, and only the reverse question exposes it. Number Words does the same trip through spoken English, and its hardest level hides a zero, where 4003 has to come out as four thousand three and not four hundred three.
Comparing Numbers pairs two four-digit numbers made from the same four digits once it is past its opening level. Because the digits match, the comparison can only be settled by place, which keeps the focus where it belongs. Ordering Numbers extends that to three numbers, and More and Less moves a number by ten, a hundred or a thousand. Encourage students to say the deciding column out loud: "same thousands, same hundreds, but three tens beats two tens." That sentence is worth more than a circled answer.
Frequently asked questions
▸What is the value of a digit?
It is the digit multiplied by its place. In 4738 the 7 sits in the hundreds place, so its value is 700. Grade 3 students should give the value as a number, not just name the column.
▸Which place value sheets does Grade 3 have?
Seven, each printed separately. Value of a Digit asks for the value of a named digit in a four-digit number. Digits and Places names the columns. Expanded Form practises both ways — number to sum and sum to number — and Number Words does the same in English. Comparing Numbers, Ordering Numbers and More and Less complete the set. Each sheet has its own three levels, so choosing a level changes how hard that skill is, not which skill you get.
▸How do you write a four-digit number in expanded form?
Take each digit in turn and write what it is worth, joined by plus signs. For 4738 that is 4000 + 700 + 30 + 8. Reading the answer back aloud is a quick way to check nothing has slipped a column.
▸Are the numbers chosen so the questions are unambiguous?
Yes. Numbers that name a digit use four different non-zero digits, so a question about "the digit 7" always points at exactly one position and has a single correct answer.