joke that i can't compare them because the alligator can't choose which number to eat. i am looking for the students to stop me and tell me that if the digits are the same in the tens place then i look at the next greatest place value column and compare those digits. if students don't think of looking in the ones place, we build the two numbers using place value blocks and think about what makes one more than the other.
finally, i write the numbers 45 and 45 on the board. i ask the students to talk with their partner about how they could compare the two numbers. i am 