Year 4 Teaching Sequence Summer 1 - Rounding and ordering four-digit numbers (two days)
Prerequisites:
 Locate four-digit numbers on a 0-10,000 line (1000s labelled) (see spring teaching sequence 2)
 Round three-digit numbers to the nearest 100 (see oral and mental starter bank 1)
 Compare four-digit numbers, use < and > signs (see spring teaching sequence 2)
Overview of progression:
Children revise rounding three-digit numbers to the nearest 10 and then round four-digit numbers to the nearest 100, using
their knowledge of ordering and locating numbers between neighbouring multiples of 100 to do so. They compare pairs of
four-digit numbers and find a number in-between.
Note that children gradually become familiar with four-digit numbers in terms of their position on the number line, order,
place value and counting on in 1s, 10s, 100s and 1000s throughout the year, in preparation for being able to calculate with
them throughout Year 5.
Watch out for children whose knowledge of four-digit place value is not secure.
© Original teaching sequence copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
Y4 Maths TS1 – Sum – 2days
Objectives:
 Compare and order four-digit numbers and find a number in-between
 Round three-digit numbers to the nearest 10 and four-digit numbers to the nearest 100
Whole class
Group activities
Paired/indiv practice
Resources
Ask chn to draw a line from 300 to 400 on their
whiteboards and to place 348 on it. How did you work out
where to place it? Discuss how it is just before 350
which is in the middle. What multiple of 10 is before
348? And after? Now draw a line from 340 to 350 and
place 348 on it. Take feedback about how chn decided
where to place 348, drawing out that it is nearer to 350
than 340. 348 rounds to 350 when we round it to the
nearest 10. Think of a number that rounds to 340 and
place it on your line. Share chn’s boards.
Sketch a line from 250 to 270, marking on 260. Think of
two numbers between 250 and 260, one which rounds to
250 and one which rounds to 260 and place them on your
line. Now think of two numbers between 260 and 270,
one which rounds to 260 and one which rounds to 270.
Share chn’s boards.
Ask one child to stand at one side of the classroom
holding a mini-whiteboard with 4600 written on it, and
another to stand at the other side of the room with
4700. Ask another child to stand where they think 4654
might be on an imaginary number line between these two
points, keeping the number secret. Ask children to
discuss in pairs what number you have given the child,
and to write an estimate on their whiteboards. Tell
children that they can choose two multiples of ten for
you to put on the line. When they have reached an
agreement (e.g. 4650 and 4660) write the numbers on
Group of 4-5 children
Write the following additions on the
board: 5567 + 3112, 5689 + 3429, 5325
+ 3479, 5899 + 3327.
Which of these do you think will have
the smallest total? Talk to your
partner. Take feedback. Discuss how it
is not that easy, but that they can use
their rounding skills to help. Ask
children to round each number to the
nearest 100, and we write the
additions:
5600 + 3100, 5700 + 3400, 5300 +
3500, 5900 + 3300.
Is it any easier now? Work with a
partner to write the four additions in
order from the smallest total to the
largest total. Afterwards give children
calculators to find the exact totals and
check their ordering.
Easier: Use calculations 5311 + 3511,
5389 + 3599, 5278 + 3511, 5235 +
3523.
Children work in pairs to shuffle a
pack of 0-9 digit cards, and take
four to make a four-digit number.
They discuss which two multiples
of hundred it lies between,
sketch a line between the two
multiples of 100 and mark on the
number they made. They ring the
nearest multiple of 100.
Easier: Children have a 30004000 landmarked line (100s
labelled), mark on 3050, 3150,
3250… 3950. They then make at
least six numbers between 3000
and 4000 and mark them on the
line in different coloured pencils.
They ring the nearest multiple of
100 in the same colour pencil as
the marked number.
 0-9 digit
cards
 3000-4000
landmarked
line, 100s
labelled (see
resources)
 Coloured
pencils
© Original teaching sequence copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
Y4 Maths TS1 – Sum – 2days
whiteboards and ask two children to stand there. The
mystery number child might need to move a little. Do you
want to change your estimate? Reveal the mystery
number. Talk to the child about how he/she knew where
to stand. Is 4654 nearer to 4600 or to 4700?
Repeat, asking a child to stand where they think 4625
might be.
Repeat, but this time with 5000 at one end of the human
number line and 6000 at the other, asking a child to
stand where 5579 might be. After a while say that they
can choose two multiples of 100 to place on the line (e.g.
5500 and 5600). Ask children to write their estimates on
their boards. Could the number be 5525? Why not? Draw
out that the number is closer to 5600 than to 5500.
Reveal the answer. If you have a number which rounds to
5600 not 5500, you made a good estimate.
Can you think of a number between 5500 and 5600 which
will round to 5500? Write this on a whiteboard and ask a
child to stand in approximately the right place. What
would we round 5550 to? Explain that we would round
5550 up to 5600.
Call out four-digit numbers and ask children which
multiple of 100 they are closer to. They write the
correct multiple of 100 on their whiteboards. Now show
me a number closer to 4500 than 4600.
Shuffle a pack of 0-9 digit cards, take four cards and
show them to the children.
What’s the biggest four-digit number we can make with
these four digits? Write it on your whiteboard. Ask a
child to help locate this number on a 0-10,000
landmarked line (see resources). What’s the smallest
number we can make with these digits? If one card is a
Group of 4-5 children
Split the group into two small teams.
Show the grid of four-digit numbers
(see resources). Explain that one team
will try to get from top to bottom, and
one team will try and get from left to
right. They do this by making a chain of
Children work in pairs to shuffle a
pack of 1-9 digit cards, take four
cards and make the biggest
number they can, the smallest,
and one number in-between. They
write the three numbers in order.
Easier: Children work in pairs to
© Original teaching sequence copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
 0-9 digit
cards
 0-10,000
landmarked
line (see
resources)
 Hexagon grid
Y4 Maths TS1 – Sum – 2days
zero, explain that they can’t put this first, as the
number would really be a three-digit number. Ask a child
to help locate this number on a 0-10,000 landmarked line.
Now think of a number in-between these two, using the
same four digits. Take feedback and mark all the
numbers on the landmarked line to confirm that they are
in between the two original numbers.
Repeat, choosing four digits, and making the smallest and
greatest possible numbers, and then numbers inbetween.
Which is the most important digit when comparing two
four-digit numbers? What if the hundreds digit is the
same?
four-digit numbers so that the next
number is greater than the previous
number. So for example if they choose
3567, they cannot chose 3362 next. If
the number they choose is bigger than
the previous one, they colour it in. But
they cannot choose a hexagon already
chosen by the other team!
Harder: Children play in pairs.
shuffle a pack of 0-9 digit cards,
take eight cards to make two
four-digit numbers. They think of
a number in-between, and write
the three numbers in order from
the smallest to the greatest.
They mark the two numbers they
make on a 0-10,000 landmarked
line (see resources) before
thinking of a number in-between.
Harder: Children think of three
numbers in-between and write the
five numbers in order.
© Original teaching sequence copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
(see
resources)
 Sheet of 010,000
landmarked
lines (see
resources)
Y4 Maths TS1 – Sum – 2days