Place Value Song | 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade

Shout along with the Numberock crew to learn about place value and expanded form to the millions along with a review of standard form, word form, and expanded form.

Place Value with Expanded Form to the Millions Lyrics:

Verse One
Look at five million three thousand twenty-four.
We can write the number out in word form,
or show it on a place value chart,
or with expanded form, break each place value apart.

Five groups of one million is five million, you see.
Three thousands is three thousand, and two tens is twenty.
Four units makes four; so the expanded form
is five million + three thousand, + twenty + four. (now check it out!)grade 4

Pre-Chorus
We can say a number’s name or write it out on a chart.
We can take each place value and then we can break it apart.
When we want to define numbers written this way…
we’ve learned the term “EXPANDED FORM”… so that’s what we say!

Chorus (x2)
First there’s the UNITS! (ones, tens, hundreds!)
Then there’s the THOUSANDS! (one thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands!)
Then come the MILLIONS! (one millions, ten millions, hundred millions!)
And when numbers get that big, we’re getting real close to the BILLIONS!
First there’s the UNITS! (ones, tens, hundreds!)
Then there’s the THOUSANDS! (one thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands!)
Then come the MILLIONS! (one millions, ten millions, hundred millions!)
And when we get that far we’re brushing up against the BILLIONS!

Bridge/Outro
The digits in big numbers are in groups of three places.
Groups of three are called “periods,” and we put commas in the spaces.
From right to left we can label them ONES, THOUSANDS, MILLIONS!
With a large enough number, it goes on beyond the Billions!
And now’s the time for one final line
about the base 10 number system’s design.
Every place to the left is worth ten times more
than the one that comes before.
And each period we move left is one thousand times greater.
With this knowledge you now possess, you can become a human calculator.

Verse Two
One hundred million fifty thousand forty-eight.
The word form is what we speak to communicate;
or we can fill in a place value chart;
or with expanded form, break each place value apart.

There’s just one group of one hundred million, you see.
Five ten thousands is fifty thousand, and four tens is forty.
Eight units makes eight; so the expanded form equates
to one hundred million + fifty thousand, + forty + eight. (now check it out!)

Learn More

This song targets TEKS and Common Core place value standards in 4th grade. Look into the relevant standards here, or dig deeper into place value and our base-ten systems origins here.

If you are interested in getting ideas on how to plan a robust standards-aligned place value lesson, we recommend checking out Instructure's recommendations for common core standard  4.NBT.1 . These pages help break down standard language, lay out the grade-appropriate level of rigor for each concept, and offer a variety of suggestions for activities (lesson seeds) that help students achieve their learning targets

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