How Does the Base-Ten Place Value System Behave?

I tried to capture place value "behavior" in this SCRATCH animation

When I participated in the Mathematical Thinking MOOC led by Keith Devlin, it was a new idea for me to think about the behavior or mathematics.

I will use that notion today as students and I explore the base-ten place value system. At the start of the exploration, I'll pose the question, "How does the base-ten place value system behave?"

Then we'll study the base-ten place value system using the model below. We'll color code periods with different colors and shade each value in the period with increasing darkness to show the change. We'll also add notes and titles to the chart's sections.

At the end we'll list our ideas about the "behavior of the base-ten place value system." I'll show the SCRATCH animation I coded to to depict base-ten place value behavior too.

As the unit continues, we'll continue to list our thoughts and ideas related to the "behavior of the base-ten system."

Do you use the word "behavior" when you teach math?  If so, how does that affect student learning and understanding?  When is this a good term to use in math and when is it not a good term? I want to think more about this and I welcome your thoughts.

This is the simple chart we'll complete together with colors and titles. The chart has been enlarged for easy use.

Later, we'll apply our study to numbers related to the length of a year for planets in our solar system.

Place Value Posts
Introduction to Grade 5 Standards
Place Value Video Contest
Place Value and Measurement Standards Activity
Buddy Time: Place Value Models
Place Value Vocabulary Project
Crossword Puzzles
Staircase Models
Exploring Place Value Models