Uganda NCDC Lesson Plans

Numbers in Words and Figures
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P6 Mathematics - Term I

Topic 2: Whole Numbers

Lesson 3: Numbers in Words and Figures

Duration: 45 minutes

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

  • Read seven-digit numbers correctly
  • Write numbers up to 9,999,999 in words
  • Convert between words and figures

Review: Place Values

M HTh TTh Th H T O
5 4 3 2 1 8 9

This is 5,432,189 - but how do we READ it?

The Secret: Grouping!

Large numbers are read in groups of three:

5 | 432 | 189

  • Group 3: Millions (leftmost)
  • Group 2: Thousands (middle)
  • Group 1: Ones (rightmost)

Reading 5,432,189

Break it down, group by group!

Step by Step

5,432,189

Group Digits Read As
Millions 5 "Five million"
Thousands 432 "four hundred thirty-two thousand"
Ones 189 "one hundred eighty-nine"

Full Reading

5,432,189

"Five million, four hundred thirty-two thousand, one hundred eighty-nine"

Notice the commas after "million" and "thousand"!

Let's Practice Reading

1,234,567

Break into groups: 1 | 234 | 567

  • "One million"
  • "two hundred thirty-four thousand"
  • "five hundred sixty-seven"

What About Zeros?

8,005,020

Break into groups: 8 | 005 | 020

  • "Eight million" ✓
  • "five thousand" (skip the zeros!)
  • "twenty" (skip the hundreds!)

"Eight million, five thousand, twenty"

Skip Empty Groups

6,000,001

Break into groups: 6 | 000 | 001

  • "Six million" ✓
  • Skip the thousands (all zeros!)
  • "one" ✓

"Six million, one"

Your Turn: Read These

Practice reading with a partner:

  1. 3,456,789
  2. 7,020,040
  3. 9,000,009

Answers

  1. 3,456,789 = "Three million, four hundred fifty-six thousand, seven hundred eighty-nine"

  2. 7,020,040 = "Seven million, twenty thousand, forty"

  3. 9,000,009 = "Nine million, nine"

Writing Numbers in Words

Let's write 2,345,678 in words:

Step 1: Break into groups: 2 | 345 | 678

Step 2: Write each group:

  • Two million
  • three hundred forty-five thousand
  • six hundred seventy-eight

Important Rules

  1. Use commas after "million" and "thousand"

  2. Hyphenate 21-99: twenty-one, thirty-five, ninety-nine

  3. Don't use "and" in whole numbers

    • ❌ "three hundred and five"
    • ✓ "three hundred five"

Spelling Reminder!

Watch these tricky ones:

Wrong ❌ Right ✓
fourty forty
ninty ninety
eigth eight
tweleve twelve

Converting Words to Figures

"Four million, two hundred thirty-five thousand, six hundred nine"

Group Words Figures
Millions Four million 4,000,000
Thousands two hundred thirty-five thousand 235,000
Ones six hundred nine 609

Answer: 4,235,609

Watch the Zeros!

"Seven million, forty thousand, three"

  • Seven million → 7,,
  • Forty thousand → ,040,__
  • Three → ,__,003

Fill in zeros for missing places!

Answer: 7,040,003

Your Turn: Words to Figures

Write in figures:

  1. "Three million, five hundred thousand, two hundred"

  2. "Eight million, sixty, four"

  3. "One million, one thousand, one"

Answers

  1. "Three million, five hundred thousand, two hundred"
    = 3,500,200

  2. "Eight million, sixty, four"
    = 8,000,064

  3. "One million, one thousand, one"
    = 1,001,001

Partner Practice

Partner A: Say a number in words
Partner B: Write it in figures

Then switch!

Check each other's work.

Quick Quiz

Question 1:
Write in words: 4,567,890

Answer 1

4,567,890 =

"Four million, five hundred sixty-seven thousand, eight hundred ninety"

Quick Quiz

Question 2:
Write in figures:

"Nine million, five hundred, four"

Answer 2

"Nine million, five hundred, four"

  • Nine million → 9,000,000
  • Five hundred → 500
  • Four → 4

= 9,000,504

Quick Quiz

Question 3:
Write in words: 3,002,050

Answer 3

3,002,050 =

"Three million, two thousand, fifty"

(Skip the hundred thousands - it's zero!)

Real-Life Connection

Large numbers are everywhere!

  • Uganda's population: about 48,000,000
  • A new car: about 80,000,000 shillings
  • Distance to the moon: about 384,000,000 meters

Can you read these numbers?

Summary

Reading/Writing Large Numbers:

  1. Group digits into threes (from the right)
  2. Read each group, then say its name
  3. Skip groups that are all zeros
  4. Use commas to separate groups in figures

Key Points

  • Millions | Thousands | Ones - the three groups
  • Commas separate the groups
  • Skip zeros when reading
  • Fill in zeros when writing figures
  • Don't use "and" in whole numbers

Homework

  1. Write in words:

    • 5,678,901
    • 2,040,006
    • 9,999,999

  2. Write in figures:

    • Seven million, six hundred fifty-four thousand, three hundred twenty-one
    • Four million, eight hundred, seventy-two

Time: 20-25 minutes

Next Lesson Preview

Tomorrow: Roman Numerals!

A completely different way to write numbers:

  • I = 1
  • V = 5
  • X = 10
  • L = 50
  • C = 100
  • D = 500
  • M = 1000

How do you write 2025 in Roman numerals? 🤔

Great Work Today!

You learned:

  • ✅ How to read seven-digit numbers
  • ✅ How to write numbers in words
  • ✅ How to convert words to figures
  • ✅ The grouping pattern: millions, thousands, ones

Practice makes perfect!

Credits

Created: November 30, 2025
Based on: NCDC P6 Mathematics Curriculum - Topic 2: Whole Numbers

Source: National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC), Uganda

Available from: https://ncdc.go.ug/