Large Number Place Value: Comparing Countries with Decimal Millions and Billions

This activity helps reinforce large number place value using the populations of countries around the world. It is interesting and relevant for students in the intermediate or middle school grades, and it could easily tie in with social studies curriculum.

If students have internet access, they can search for the population of each country independently. If not, you can find the populations and read them aloud for students to record. Then students need to work with the numbers: rounding, ordering, estimating, and calculating.

This activity works well when completed in partners, small groups, or independently.

Grades to Use With: This activity works well in the middle grades (from grades 4-8) or in a high school special education classroom.

How to Use: Students need to find the populations of 10 countries: Turkey, Chile, Brazil, China, Canada, United States, Israel, Iceland, Ethiopia, and Mexico. They write each population in regular form and then round to decimal millions (for example 37.2 million).

Next, they write the countries' populations in order from smallest to largest and answer some questions that compare the populations. They also write three of the populations in expanded form, and calculate the exact difference between two of the countries.

Standards:

CCSS4.NBT.A.2

Read and write multi-digit whole numbers using base-ten numerals, number names, and expanded form. Compare two multi-digit numbers based on meanings of the digits in each place, using >, =, and < symbols to record the results of comparisons.

CCSS4.NBT.A.3

Use place value understanding to round multi-digit whole numbers to any place.

CCSS5.NBT.A.1

Recognize that in a multi-digit number, a digit in one place represents 10 times as much as it represents in the place to its right and 1/10 of what it represents in the place to its left.

A total of 3 pages: Title Page and Two-Page Worksheet in PDF Format