Name that Comma! Breaking Up Big Numbers

Is your child tense about the tens place? Humbled by the hundreds place? Thwarted by the thousands, and muddled over the millions? Have no fear - it's quite normal to get confused when reading big numbers. That million-dollar check may look like a zillion zeros, but in truth, it's all in the commas. To help your child shake the big number blues, here's a handy strategy to make your child a place value pro!

What You Need:

• unlined white paper
• multi-colored markers
• black marker

What You Do:

 1. Begin by writing a small number on the top of your paper, such as 1,000. Write digits in black, but make the comma green.

Say:

• “The name of the green comma is ‘thousand’”.
• “Read the number in front of the comma (1).”
• “Say the name of the comma (thousand).”

2. That was easy! Now, build larger numbers. Below 1,000, write 10,000.

Say:

• “The name of the green comma is ‘thousand’.”
• “Read the number in front of the comma (10).”
• “Say the name of the comma (thousand).

3. Repeat the process for 100,000. Practice reading and writing several numbers up to 999,999.

4. Continue adding zeros and making larger numbers. Write 1,000,000, using green for the “thousand” comma and red for the “million” comma. Practice reading and writing numbers up to 999,999,999. Remind your child to simply read the number before the comma, then say the name of the comma.

5. Repeat the same process and directions for reading large numbers up to 999,999,999,999. Use blue for the “billion” comma and yellow for the “trillion” comma.