What you will learn
- Count on and count back with numbers up to 10 000, by ones, tens, hundreds and thousands.
- Read four-digit numbers and write them in numerals and in words.
- Find the missing numbers in a counting sequence.
In Standard 2 you worked with numbers up to 1 000. Now the numbers get bigger! In this lesson you will count all the way to 10 000. That is about the number of people who can sit in a big cricket ground. You will learn to say, read and write these big numbers, and you will build them with base ten blocks.
Counting past 1 000
Counting with big numbers works just like counting with small numbers. When you count on by ones, the ones digit goes up each time. When the ones reach 9, the next number makes a new ten.
Watch what happens when we count on from 997:
997, 998, 999, 1 000, 1 001, 1 002
After 999 comes 1 000 (one thousand). The same thing happens at every thousand: 2 999 is followed by 3 000, and 9 999 is followed by 10 000 (ten thousand).
To count back, you go down by one each time: 4 002, 4 001, 4 000, 3 999, 3 998.
We write a space after the thousands digit, like this: 4 521. The space helps you read the number. It is still one number!
Skip counting by 10, 100 and 1 000
Skip counting is a quick way to count. You jump the same amount each time.
Count on in tens and only the tens digit changes, until it passes 9: 2 470, 2 480, 2 490, 2 500.
Count on in hundreds and the hundreds digit changes: 1 600, 1 700, 1 800, 1 900, 2 000.
Count on in thousands and the thousands digit changes. Look at this pattern: 1 340, 2 340, 3 340, 4 340. The other digits stay the same.
Worked example
Count on in hundreds from 1 650. Write the next four numbers.
Show me how
Only the hundreds digit changes. It goes up by 1 each time.
1 650, 1 750, 1 850, 1 950.
The next jump passes nine hundreds. 1 950 + 100 = 2 050, so the thousands digit goes up to 2.
Answer: 1 750, 1 850, 1 950, 2 050.
Reading and writing big numbers
To read a four-digit number, read the thousands first, then the hundreds, then the last two digits. A place value chart helps.
| Th | H | T | O |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
4 521 is read as four thousand, five hundred and twenty-one.
When a number has a zero, we do not say that part. 3 005 is three thousand and five. There are no hundreds and no tens, but the zeros must still be written. They hold the places.
Worked example
Write six thousand and forty in numerals.
Show me how
Six thousand: the thousands digit is 6.
There are no hundreds, so the hundreds digit is 0.
Forty is 4 tens and 0 ones.
Answer: 6 040.
Watch out! A common mistake
Some children write three thousand and five as 30005 or 305. Both are wrong. A number in the thousands has four digits. Put a zero in each empty place: 3 005.
Counting with base ten blocks
Base ten blocks help you see big numbers. Ten ones make a ten (a rod). Ten tens make a hundred (a flat). Ten hundreds make a thousand (a big cube).
If you have 2 thousand cubes, 3 hundred flats, 1 ten rod and 6 ones, the number is 2 316.
To find a missing number in a sequence, first find the jump. In 5 200, 5 300, ____, 5 500 the numbers go up by 100 each time, so the missing number is 5 400.
Try it
TRY ITPlace-value builder
Press + and − to add or take away thousands, hundreds, tens and ones. The builder shows your number in numerals, in words and in expanded form.
TRY ITCounting challenge
Choose a game. Tap the right answer. Then press Next question.
Let’s practise
Work out each one in your copybook. Open Hint if you are stuck, then open Show answer to check your working.
1. Count on by ones. Write the next three numbers: 5 997, 5 998, ____, ____, ____
Hint
After 5 999 comes a new thousand.
Show answer
5 999, 6 000, 6 001.
2. Count back by tens. Write the next three numbers: 3 030, 3 020, ____, ____, ____
Hint
Take 10 away each time. What comes before 3 000?
Show answer
3 010, 3 000, 2 990.
3. Skip count by thousands: 1 340, 2 340, 3 340, ____, ____
Hint
Only the thousands digit changes.
Show answer
4 340, 5 340.
4. Write four thousand, two hundred and seventeen in numerals.
Hint
Thousands, then hundreds, then tens and ones.
Show answer
4 217.
5. Write 7 068 in words.
Hint
There are no hundreds. Say the thousands, then the last two digits.
Show answer
Seven thousand and sixty-eight.
6. Find the missing number: 8 600, 8 700, ____, 8 900
Hint
What is the jump each time?
Show answer
The jump is 100, so the missing number is 8 800.
7. A number has 9 thousands, 0 hundreds, 5 tens and 2 ones. What is the number?
Hint
Write a zero for the empty hundreds place.
Show answer
9 052.
8. (a) What number comes just after 9 999?
(b) What number comes just before 4 000?
(c) What number comes just after 6 099?
Hint
Count on or back by one.
Show answer
(a) 10 000
(b) 3 999
(c) 6 100
Quiz
Lesson quiz: 10 questions
Answer every question, then press Check my answers. Score 8 or more to earn the Number Counter badge.
Numbers to 10 000: worksheet
Name: ____________________ Date: ______________
Part A: Let’s practise
1. Count on by ones. Write the next three numbers: 5 997, 5 998, ____, ____, ____
2. Count back by tens. Write the next three numbers: 3 030, 3 020, ____, ____, ____
3. Skip count by thousands: 1 340, 2 340, 3 340, ____, ____
4. Write four thousand, two hundred and seventeen in numerals.
5. Write 7 068 in words.
6. Find the missing number: 8 600, 8 700, ____, 8 900
7. A number has 9 thousands, 0 hundreds, 5 tens and 2 ones. What is the number?
8. (a) What number comes just after 9 999?
(b) What number comes just before 4 000?
(c) What number comes just after 6 099?
Part B: Quiz
1. What number comes just after 2 999?
(a) 2 1000
(b) 3 000
(c) 2 998
(d) 3 999
2. Count back by ones: 7 002, 7 001, 7 000, … What comes next?
3. Skip count by hundreds: 4 700, 4 800, 4 900, …
(a) 4 1000
(b) 5 900
(c) 5 000
(d) 4 910
4. Which numeral is three thousand and five?
(a) 305
(b) 3 050
(c) 3 005
(d) 30 005
5. Write eight thousand, four hundred and sixty in numerals.
6. 6 090 is read as six thousand and ninety.
True or False? Circle one: True / False
7. Find the missing number: 2 480, 2 490, ____, 2 510
(a) 2 400
(b) 2 500
(c) 2 491
(d) 3 500
8. Skip count by thousands: 1 250, 2 250, 3 250, … What comes next?
9. The number after 9 999 is 1 000.
True or False? Circle one: True / False
10. Which number has 5 thousands, 0 hundreds, 7 tens and 3 ones?
(a) 573
(b) 5 073
(c) 5 703
(d) 5 730
Answers (for the adult)
Part A
1. 5 999, 6 000, 6 001.
2. 3 010, 3 000, 2 990.
3. 4 340, 5 340.
4. 4 217.
5. Seven thousand and sixty-eight.
6. The jump is 100, so the missing number is 8 800.
7. 9 052.
8. (a) 10 000
(b) 3 999
(c) 6 100
Part B
1. (b) 3 000
2. 6 999
3. (c) 5 000
4. (c) 3 005
5. 8 460
6. True
7. (b) 2 500
8. 4 250
9. False
10. (b) 5 073
Recap
- When you count on past 999, 1 999, 2 999 and so on, you reach a new thousand.
- Skip counting by 10, 100 or 1 000 changes the tens, hundreds or thousands digit.
- Read big numbers from the thousands down: 4 521 is four thousand, five hundred and twenty-one.
- Zeros hold empty places: three thousand and five is 3 005.
- To find a missing number, work out the jump first.
Words to know
- thousand
- Ten hundreds. It is written 1 000.
Example: There are about one thousand pages in that big dictionary. - numeral
- A number written with digits, like 2 316.
Example: The numeral for two thousand is 2 000. - digit
- One of the symbols 0 to 9 that we use to write numbers.
Example: The number 7 068 has four digits. - sequence
- Numbers in an order that follows a rule.
Example: 2 470, 2 480, 2 490 is a sequence that goes up by ten. - skip count
- To count by jumping the same amount each time.
Example: We can skip count by hundreds: 300, 400, 500.
Try it at home
- Find big numbers at home or outside: on a calendar (the year 2026), a car number plate, a receipt or a sign. Read each one aloud to an adult.
- Mini project: make a counting strip. Start at 1 900 and count on in tens to 2 100. Write each number on a strip of paper and hang it on the wall.
- Play “What comes next?” One person says a number and a jump, like “3 400, jump 100”. The other says the next three numbers.
Test tips
Tips for class tests
- Always check how many digits your answer has. Numbers from 1 000 to 9 999 have four digits.
- When writing a number from words, write a zero for any place that is not mentioned.
- In a missing-number question, check the jump between two numbers you know before you fill the gap.
For parents and teachers
After this lesson, your child should be able to:
- count on and back by ones, tens, hundreds and thousands up to 10 000, including across a thousand (for example 2 998, 2 999, 3 000);
- read and write numbers to 10 000 in numerals and in words;
- find missing numbers in a counting sequence.
Ask your child to read numbers seen every day, such as prices and the year. Most mistakes happen when crossing a thousand (999 to 1 000, 4 999 to 5 000), so practise counting on and back around those numbers.
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Previous: Standard 3 Maths: start of the course
Next: Place Value and Expanded Notation – Standard 3 Maths
Course: Standard 3 Maths
Updates
2026/11/03
– First version of this lesson.
Attributions to media used in this post:
Queens Park Oval Trinidad.jpg – Dominic Sayers from London, England – CC BY 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
Mechanical Tally Counter.jpg – Scottinglis at English Wikipedia – Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
© 2026 Vedesh Kungebeharry. All rights reserved.
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