Comparing, ordering and writing numbers – Grade 5 math lesson
Lesson 9 of 18 in the Grade 5 math course
US version. US grades, US spelling and dollars ($). · UK Maths Department
A complete 45-minute lesson for grade 5 (ages 10–11) that runs on this page – at school or at home. Every answer is graded right away, with a worked explanation.
- Time
- 45 minutes + 20 min homework
- Grade
- Grade 5 (ages 10–11)
- You need
- Paper, a pencil and this page
- Graded
- Instantly, with explanations
For parents: how to use this lesson
You don't need to know this topic yourself. The lesson explains each step on screen, one tidy step at a time. Every answer is graded straight away with a worked explanation, so you never have to grade anything.
- Read what your child will learn and the big ideas together.
- Press Start the lesson below and sit with your child for the teaching and the worked examples (about 19 minutes).
- Let them do the practice on their own. They choose Getting started, On track or Challenge – start on On track and move up after a few right in a row.
- Finish with the exit ticket and the talk question: “Why is 10,001 greater than 9,999 even though its digits look smaller?”
- Later that day or the next day: the homework (20 minutes), then a practice test.
Watch out for
- Comparing the first digits of numbers with different numbers of digits (thinking 812 > 1,203). Count the digits first: more digits means a bigger whole number.
- Missing zeros when writing numbers from words. Write the number in a place value chart, filling empty columns with 0.
Tip for home: Compare the populations of towns or the prices of houses or cars.
What your child will learn
Learning goal: read, write, compare and order large numbers.
Success looks like
- I can compare two large numbers.
- I can order a set of numbers.
- I can read and write numbers in words and digits.
Key words
- place value
- what a digit is worth because of its position
- ascending
- from smallest to largest
- descending
- from largest to smallest
- digit
- one of the symbols 0 to 9
What to have ready
- Paper and a pencil
- This page on a computer, tablet or phone
- For the hands-on part: Write numbers on cards, shuffle them and race to put them in order. Read each one aloud.
The big ideas (for the adult)
To compare numbers, line them up by place value and compare the highest place first. Only move to the next place if the digits match.
To order a list, compare the numbers in pairs, or sort by the number of digits first, then by the first digit.
Read large numbers in groups of three digits from the left: 4,302,015 is four million, three hundred and two thousand and fifteen.
The lesson, step by step
| Part | Time | How it is checked |
|---|---|---|
| Starter: quick recall | 5 min | Graded by Classfern |
| Teaching input | 10 min | Not assessed, self-checked |
| Worked examples and guided practice | 9 min | Not assessed, graded by Classfern |
| Independent practice | 15 min | Graded by Classfern |
| Closure and exit ticket | 6 min | Graded by Classfern, self-checked |
Starter, "your turn", practice and exit ticket are graded by Classfern. Worked examples and teaching are not assessed. The hands-on task and the reflection are self-assessed. Explanations in talk are judged by the parent and not recorded.
The lesson
It runs here on the page. No sign-up and no names – progress is kept only in this browser.
Homework and practice at home
20 minutes: 10 practice questions, 3 multiple-choice questions and 2 to remember from earlier work, then a short reflection. New questions every time, all graded instantly.
More practice
More Grade 5 math lessons
- Order of operations
- Solving word problems
- Number patterns
- Place value: the value of each digit
- Decimals: tenths, hundredths and thousandths
- Multiplying and dividing by powers of 10
- Decimals and percentages
- Calculating with decimals
- Rounding decimals
- Adding and subtracting decimals
- Fractions of a whole number
- Adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators
- Multiplying fractions
- Converting measurement units
- Volume of rectangular prisms
- Classifying 2-D shapes
- Coordinates
Curriculum
Common Core State Standards 5.NBT.A.1: “Recognize that in a multi-digit number, a digit in one place represents 10 times as much as it represents in the place to its right and 1/10 of what it represents in the place to its left.”
Our lessons and questions are our own. They are not written or endorsed by any government department, testing agency or exam board.