B1.2 Compare and order whole numbers up to and including 100 000, in various contexts.
Activity 1: Clothesline
Materials
- string
- cards
- clothespins
Prepare cards with numbers between 60 000 and 70 000. Also prepare a card with the number 60 000 and another with 70 000.
Place a card showing 60 000 at the left end of the string and 70 000 at the right end.
Ask students to look at their card (with a number between 60 000 and 70 000) and visualize where to place it on the clothesline (string) between the numbers 60 000 and 70 000.
Then have them discuss it with a partner.
Afterwards, students hang their card with a clothespin while sharing their reasoning. Ask other students if they agree.
Activity 2: Forming Numbers With Cards
Materials
- deck of cards with cards 1-9
- laminated open number line
- erasable felt-tip pen
In pairs, students each create a 5-digit number by picking 5 cards from the deck. They read and compare their numbers. Students place a dash on the number line to indicate where each of their numbers would lie.
Each student thinks of a number that would fall between their 2 numbers.
The activity continues by repeating the steps: students draw 5 new cards, etc.
Activity 3: Ordering With a Card
Materials
- cards with numbers between 50 000 and 100 000 (enough for each student to receive 1 card)
Give each student a card. Ask them to stand in ascending order according to the card they have received.
Ask two students in the class to check and validate the ascending order of the numbers found on the cards.
Then ask these two students to turn around so that they cannot see what is happening behind them. Ask a few students to switch places so that the numbers are no longer in ascending order.
When finished, have the two students turn around and identify which students (number cards from 50 000 to 100 000) are no longer in the correct order. Ask them to switch the cards so that the numbers are again in ascending order.