Writing out numbers!

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SWBAT read and write numbers in a variety of ways.

Big Idea

In this lesson students explore how to write numbers in written form, in order to become more precise in the way they read and write numbers.

Warming Up

10 minutes

Interactive Tool

To bring students into the lesson, I invite them to the carpet. I write to large phrases on the board.


I have four hundred twenty-six pencils in my jar.

There are three thousand four hundred twenty-nine books in the book store.

I ask students to read the phrases aloud with me. I underline the numbers in written form. After that, I ask student volunteers to come up and write the number in standard form. I repeat this for the second phrase. I notice that it is easier for students to write numbers in standard form rather than written form.  I switch it up a bit to see if students would grasp the concept easier.  

I write 342 on the board. I ask student volunteers to write the number in written form.  Although they wrote it correctly, the spelling is a bit off. So, I tell students that today we will be exploring how to read and understand numbers in written form. Are you guys ready to move to our first activity? Students seem very eager to learn, so we move forward in this lesson.


Mathematical Practices:

 MP.6. Attend to precision.


Think and Write

15 minutes

Material: note taking paper.pdf

In this portion of the lesson, I want students to have a little fun writing numbers in written form.  I explain that I will say a number between 1-100, and someone can volunteer to write it on the board in written form.   You will have a three minute time frame to write it. Does everyone understand?

I call out the first number. Students seem eager to answer; however, some students still struggle with their spelling. I call out a few more numbers. As students are writing, I make a list of numbers they continue to misspell, so that I can correct them later on.  When the given time is up I place several numbers on the board in written form. I explain that I notice some of you continue to misspell the following words: hundred, twenty, fifty, and thousand. I am placing a word bank on the board, as we continue to work; I may place additional words in the bank.  Please use the word bank to assist you in spelling your words correctly.

Writing on my own

20 minutes

 Material:  Standard Form.docx

In this portion of the lesson I want to see if students are able to write numbers in written form on their own.  I give them a sheet of paper with various numbers written in standard form.  I ask students to write the written form of each number.  After seven minutes, I circle the room to see if students are able to complete the task on their own. I use this time to reinforce their learning.

For instance, I ask students to explain the difference between written and standard form.  I want to see if students recognize that the value of the number is still the same even if it is written in written form.  So, I ask students to explain. Some students recall that numbers can be expressed and written in different ways, but the value of the number is still the same.  To extend this lesson a bit more, I ask students to grab a partner and compare their answers.  I encourage students to look at the word bank for any hard to spell number names.   I continue to monitor students working to determine if additional support is needed.

Student Sample