Give five seconds of quiet think-time, then take three hands-up answers, not open call-outs. Don't confirm the right answer yet. Listen for who counts zeros confidently and who guesses.

2,408,000 — point at the three zeros on the right. Ask what each holds open before naming the number; they keep the 2, 4 and 8 in place.

1,050,607 — read column by column so scattered zeros aren't skipped. 1 in millions, 5 in ten-thousands.

7,000,090 — only the millions and tens columns filled. Pause on the empties and have them say aloud: no hundred-thousands, no ten-thousands, no thousands, no hundreds, no units.

9,999,999 — every column at nine. Trace the two commas, name the three groups: millions, thousands, units.

The idea to land: a comma every three digits from the right marks where the millions and thousands groups begin.

This round is for talking it through together — a pupil builds at the board and the watching class agrees with a thumbs-up or answers when you ask.

Call one number at a time and have a pupil build it on the chart. Before reading the whole number, ask the class to name every empty column ('no thousands here'), and after each build pose a quick question to a seated pupil and revoice their answer so the back rows stay with it. Watch for the common slip of reading 3,072,000 as 'three million, seventy-two' instead of 'three million and seventy-two thousand' — the thousands group is the catch.

These are the practice questions — a pupil builds each target at the board, the class names the empty columns aloud first, then we check and confirm before moving on. Keep the board work brisk rather than over-explaining.

For each target, ask the whole class 'what is tricky about the zeros here?' before a pupil builds it: in 305,072 the millions column is empty and there is a zero holding the ten-thousands open; in 9,008,040 there are zeros holding open four separate columns. Use the Check tick as part of your narration — 'yes, that's it.' Begin everyone on the first target and bring the strongest builders to 9,008,040.

Keep this brisk — a 60-second recap of the three bullets. Flag the bridge to decimals so the next lesson feels connected: the same ten-times rule, just going smaller.