Let me guess? You’re starting your year-long journey through 4th grade math with a short place value unit. Place value to millions is usually the first unit of the year for a good reason. It is a cornerstone of math understanding and sets students up for greater understanding and success for all the concepts to come. (I’m looking at you long division!) Whether you are introducing place value for the first time or just need a mid-year review, this Google Slides digital unit makes mastering place value to millions both fun and effective!
As a comprehensive unit, it comes with anchor charts that teach all the place value subskill, and drag-and-drop practice activities, and digital worksheets. It allows your students will explore place value to millions and related concepts in an engaging, hands-on way.
From understanding how to use a place value chart to comparing and ordering numbers, this unit covers all the essential skills. Plus, with an end-of-unit review and assessment included, you’ll have everything you need to help your students build a solid foundation in place value while keeping them excited about learning. Let’s walk through each lesson.
Lesson 1: Using a Place Value Chart
As with each lesson, this one starts with a digital anchor chart to explain the concept.
Here students can see how to use a place value chart to build a number to the millions place, how to read that number, as well as give some written explanations for place value to millions. While it is ideal to have a teacher available to explain the concept, anchor charts like this one can serve as a substitute when the teacher is unavailable or serve as a thorough review for students as they practice independently.
After an explanation of how to use charts for place value to millions, students have the opportunity to practice. The first two activities provide students with movable leaf pieces and ask students to complete the flower pictures by matching the underlined digit with the correct value of that digit. For example, students would drag a leaf with 7,584,503 to the same flower as 500,000 since that is the value of the underlined 5.
The second activity features an interactive place value to millions pocket chart. Students will use their mouse to click and slide number cards into the pockets of the place value chart to build large numbers. Then they practice reading the number out loud to someone or use technology to make a recording of themselves saying the number out loud.
Students finish up the lesson by completing a digital place value worksheet to show how well they have understood the lesson.
Lesson 2: Numbers in Expanded Form
Thanks to the work students did in Lesson 1, they now have an understanding of the value of each place and are ready to move on showing the place value of a number in expanded form. Expanded form place value uses addition sentences to decompose a number based on its place in the number. For example, the number 621 can be broken apart into 6 hundreds, 2 tens, and 1 one. Written in expanded form it’s 600 + 20 + 1. But 4th graders are ready for much more than a 3-digit number. They are ready to compose and decompose numbers all the way through the millions place!
Lesson 2 starts with an anchor chart that explains and models expanded form place value. Next, students get to practice with two activities.
In these two Lego themed activities, students get the chance to start with a decomposed number and put it together into standard form. Then they can work the opposite direction as well, taking a standard form number through the millions place and decomposing it into an expanded form number.
Students again, have the opportunity to show what they have learned using a digital worksheet for place value to millions in expanded form.
Lesson 3: Comparing and Ordering Numbers
Now that students are comfortable with place value to millions, it’s time to apply it by comparing and ordering numbers.
This anchor chart walks them step-by-step through the process for using place value to compare and order numbers by comparing the largest place first and then working their way toward the ones place to determine the greater and lesser number.
Next up, students will apply the skill with two drag-and-drop activities. The first two-slide activity called Which is Greater? will have them using moveable greater than and less than symbols to build comparisons that are true.
The second activity, called Stack the Books, will have them sorting, ordering, and dragging numbered books to create a library stack that builds from least to greatest.
Lastly, students will wrap up the lesson with a digital worksheet for comparing and ordering numbers.
Lesson 4: Rounding Large Numbers
Next up, rounding large numbers! If there is one thing elementary kids can’t practice enough, it’s rounding. They will be asked to do it in almost every unit you teach this year, so it’s great to get started on the right foot.
Once again, the lesson starts with an anchor chart. This one outlines the steps for rounding to nearest thousand or ten thousand.
Next, student will apply the steps for rounding as they click, drag, and type their way through an activity called Sort & Round. They will sort numbers based on whether they should be rounded up or rounded down and then round that number to the underlined place.
Students will get even more application practice with a digital worksheet all about rounding large numbers.
Lesson 5: Review and Assess Place Value to Millions
After a week of learning all about place value to millions, it’s time to review what students learned and let them show off how much they’ve learned.
They have two opportunities to review place value to millions and rounding. One uses a number to the millions place and the other uses a hundred thousands place number, so you can assign both or pick the one that makes the most sense for your students.
Finally, a digital assessment will give you a snapshot of how well students understood the place value concepts for the week.
Of course, an answer key is included for all the activities and worksheets to make it easy for teachers and homeschooling parents use.
This digital place value to millions unit is a welcome change of pace for teaching 4th graders how to understand and work with large numbers. The combination of lessons, interactive drag-and-drop activities, and an end-of-unit assessment ensures that your students are not only practicing but also mastering these critical skills. You can find this place value unit and all my other digital units in my TPT store.
Whether you’re teaching in the classroom or assigning work digitally, this unit provides everything you need to make learning place value to millions both effective and fun. Ready to take your students’ place value knowledge to the next level? Download the unit today and see their confidence soar as they become place value pros!
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Grab even more ideas for your math classroom with one of these articles:
Estimating Sums and Differences: A Step-by-Step Lesson Plan for 4th Grade
5 Easy Ways to Turn Your Math Anchor Charts into Multi-Purpose Tools for Learning
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