First Grade Tens and Ones

Some of my kids are really struggling comprehending the difference between Tens and Ones. I decided to put rods and units in their Counting Collections basket and told them what they have to do with the basket. 

1. Draw what is in the basket.

2. Write: "I have _____"

3. Write: "I have _____ tens."

4. Write:"I have _____ ones."

Today, I began making the student write the value of each above what they drew. If a student had three rods, they would write "10, 20, 30." If there were three additional units, the student would write "31, 32, 33."