NCERT Maths Mela, Class 4, textbook pages 39–61

How to teach Class 4 Maths Chapter 4, Thousands Around Us, at home

Numbers to 10,000, taught with things you already have at home: a 10-minute activity, a game for the week, a 5-day plan and the mistakes to watch for.

3000+400+50+23,452

NCERT Class 4 Maths Chapter 4 Thousands Around Us: what it teaches

Numbers grow past 1000 into thousands. Your child reads and writes four-digit numbers, shows them with thousands, hundreds, tens and ones, writes the expanded form, compares numbers, places them on a number line and rounds them.

Why it matters later. Place value to thousands is needed for all four-digit addition, subtraction and multiplication in Class 4 and 5.

See it: this chapter in pictures

99899910001001crossing a thousand
After 999 comes a new thousand.
2000300040003,7603,760 is closer to 4,000
Round by looking at which thousand is closer.
4,999<5,001compare thousands first
Compare from the left: thousands first.

You need

  • paper cards for 1000, 100, 10 and 1
  • a long paper number line
  • newspaper or price tags with big numbers

Tonight’s 10 minutes

  1. Make 3,452 with cards: 3 thousands, 4 hundreds, 5 tens, 2 ones. Write it in expanded form: 3000 + 400 + 50 + 2.
  2. Count across a thousand: 998, 999, 1000, 1001.
  3. Mark 2500, 2900 and 3100 on a number line from 2000 to 4000. Which thousand is each closest to?
  4. Find big numbers in a newspaper and read them aloud.

Words to use

  • thousand
  • expanded form
  • place value
  • compare
  • round to
  • closest thousand

Watch for

  • Reading 4,006 as forty-six. Read from the left: thousands first. Point to each place.
  • Rounding 2,500 wrongly. Numbers exactly halfway round up: 2,500 rounds to 3,000.

What it sounds like at home

A short example of the conversation. Your words will differ; the questions are what matter.

YouRead this number: 4,006.

Your childForty… no, four thousand and six.

YouWhat does the 0 in hundreds mean?

Your childNo hundreds.

YouRound 3,760 to the nearest thousand.

Your child4,000, because 7 hundreds is more than 5.

A game for this week: Biggest number

  1. Make digit cards 0 to 9.
  2. Each player draws 4 cards and makes the biggest number.
  3. Read it aloud; biggest wins the round.
  4. Next round: make the smallest (no 0 at the start).

A 5-day plan, 10 minutes a day

  1. Day 1Place value cards.
  2. Day 2Count across a thousand.
  3. Day 3Expanded form.
  4. Day 4Number line and rounding.
  5. Day 5Biggest number game.

Everyday moments to practise

  • Prices of phones or bicycles.
  • Distances between cities.
  • Population of your town.
  • Years like 2026.

Quick check

Ask these at the end of the week. Tap to see the answer.

Write 5 thousands, 0 hundreds, 7 tens, 3 ones.

5073.

Which is bigger: 4,999 or 5,001?

5,001.

Round 3,760 to the nearest thousand.

4,000.

Ready for the next chapter when your child…

  • Reads and writes four-digit numbers.
  • Writes expanded forms.
  • Compares and rounds to the nearest thousand.

Activities, wording and illustrations are Mathify Kids’ own, following the topics of NCERT’s Maths Mela (Class 4). See the full Class 4 parent guide for every chapter.

Questions parents ask

How far do numbers go in Class 4?

Up to four digits (thousands).

What is expanded form?

Writing a number as the sum of its places, like 3000 + 400 + 50 + 2.

How do we round to the nearest thousand?

Look at the hundreds digit: 5 or more rounds up.