Dear Math Central;

My daughter is in grade 4 and her math teacher has asked her to write out the number 1 to 10,000. She is currently at 4567 and is sick of it. When I complained that this was not a usefull exercise she said that the Ministry of Education curriculum requires this and gave a photocopy of the page. It states: "read and write whole number to 10,000 in standard, expanded, and written forms (eg., 9367=9000+300+60+7 = nine thousand three hundred sixty-seven). Has the teacher interpreted this the wrong way?

Thanks John
PS. Do you have a web address for Ontario Math and Science Teachers organization?

Dear John

Yes! I interpret this to mean that the student can read and write any whole number up to 10 000 (not all the whole numbers up to 10 000). I don't know the website for the STAO (Science Teachers Association of Ontario) but the website for the OAME (Ont Assoc for Math Educ) is: http://www.oame.on.ca. It has 15 Chapters and so you might find a chapter near you. My advice would be to talk to the Principal of the school and, if the expectation is still misinterpreted as all the numbers up to 10 000, then talk to a curriculum consultant at the board.

Jack