Place value to the thousands

The lesson plan

Learning objectives

• Students will read and write whole numbers up to the thousands place.
• Students will name the value of a digit based on its position in a number.
• Students will compare two multi-digit numbers using place value reasoning.

Materials

• Place-value blocks (ones, tens, hundreds, thousands cubes), or a hand-drawn place-value chart if blocks are not available.
• One copy of the practice set below per student.
• Pencil; colored pencil or highlighter, optional, for marking a digit's place.
• A blank index card per student for the exit-ticket assessment.

Suggested sequence

1. Warm-up (5-10 minutes): Ask students to build a number with place-value blocks or a quick sketch, then say it aloud to a partner.
2. Model (10 minutes): Show how to read a multi-digit number aloud, naming each place (thousands, hundreds, tens, ones), and how to write a number a partner says aloud.
3. Guided practice (10-15 minutes): Work Part 1 and the first two problems of Part 2 together as a class, thinking aloud about which digit sits in which place.
4. Independent practice (15-20 minutes): Students complete the rest of the practice set (Parts 2-4) on their own or with a partner.
5. Close: Students complete the exit-ticket assessment on an index card before leaving.

Discussion prompts

• How does moving a digit one place to the left change its value?
• How do you decide which of two numbers is larger when they have the same number of digits?
• Two numbers have the same digits in a different order. Can they have the same value? Why or why not?

Student handout: the practice set

Print or copy the four parts below for each student. Numbers are printed in digits throughout; students supply the words, comparisons, and expanded forms.

Part 1 — Name the place. For each number, write the value of the digit shown in bold.

1. 4,762
2. 3,208
3. 9,050
4. 1,999
5. 6,340

Part 2 — Read and write. Write each number in word form, then write it in expanded form (example: 4,762 = four thousand, seven hundred sixty-two = 4,000 + 700 + 60 + 2).

1. 2,451
2. 8,006
3. 5,370
4. 1,024

Part 3 — Compare. Write <, >, or = between each pair of numbers.

1. 3,402 ___ 3,420
2. 7,650 ___ 7,605
3. 4,999 ___ 5,001
4. 6,230 ___ 6,230
5. 2,081 ___ 2,018

Part 4 — Word problems. Solve each problem and explain your place-value reasoning in one sentence.

1. A school collected 2,340 cans in one food drive and 2,430 cans in a second food drive. Which drive collected more cans? How do you know, looking only at the thousands and hundreds digits?
2. Write the greatest four-digit number you can make using the digits 3, 0, 8, and 5 exactly once. Then write the least four-digit number using the same four digits.
3. A number has a 6 in the thousands place, a 0 in the hundreds place, a 4 in the tens place, and a 9 in the ones place. Write the number in standard form and in word form.

Assessment (exit ticket)

Give each student a blank index card for these three questions once the practice set is complete. This is a quick, individual check, separate from the guided and independent practice above.

1. Write the number four thousand, eight hundred nineteen in standard form.
2. What is the value of the 5 in 5,264?
3. Which is greater: 3,910 or 3,901? Write <, >, or = to show your answer.

Answer key: (1) 4,819 — (2) five thousand — (3) 3,910 > 3,901.

Rubric

Use this four-point rubric to score the practice set and the exit ticket together.

• 4 — Meets with depth: All parts of the practice set are correct or nearly so, the word problems include a clear place-value explanation, and all three exit-ticket answers are correct.
• 3 — Meets: Parts 1-3 are mostly correct, at least one word problem is solved with a valid explanation, and at least two of three exit-ticket answers are correct.
• 2 — Approaching: Parts 1-2 (naming place value, reading and writing numbers) are mostly correct, but comparing numbers (Part 3) or the word problems show a consistent place-value mix-up.
• 1 — Beginning: Only Part 1 is attempted with any accuracy, or place value is confused across most of the set (for example, comparing digit count instead of digit value).

Differentiation

• Support: Keep place-value blocks or a printed place-value chart on hand for every problem, not just the warm-up. Reduce Part 2 to two numbers instead of four, and allow students to say a number's word form aloud before writing it.
• Extension: Ask students to extend Part 4, problem 2, to five digits, or to write a real-world example of a five-digit number (a population, a distance in miles) and name the value of each digit in it.
• English language learners: Pair the numeral with its word form on an anchor chart (thousands, hundreds, tens, ones) that stays posted during independent practice, and let students point to the chart when explaining a comparison aloud.

Checking for understanding

Collect the completed practice set and exit ticket as a formative check: a student who can correctly read, write, and compare the numbers in the set, and who scores 3 or better on the rubric, has met the lesson’s objective.