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Grade 4 Math · Level 1, Numbers Through One Million

Compare Whole Numbers

How the lesson starts: Compare Whole Numbers

1. Two dragon hoards

   Hi there! Meet two friendly dragons, Blaze and Ember. Blaze counted 45,218 rubies. Ember counted 45,281 rubies. The numbers look almost the same! Who has more? Let's be gem detectives.

2. Bigger sits to the right

   Here is a number line from 45,200 to 45,300. Blaze's pile, 45,218, sits here. Ember's pile, 45,281, sits farther right. Farther right means bigger. So Ember has more!

3. Place by place

   No number line? Compare from the left. 56,318 and 56,381. Ten-thousands: 5 and 5, same. Thousands: 6 and 6. Hundreds: 3 and 3. Tens: 1 and 8. Different! 1 < 8, so 56,318 < 56,381. The open side faces the bigger number.