Grade 2 math: Comparing and ordering numbers

If your child is in Grade 2, the topic "Comparing and ordering numbers" is one of the ideas where confidence is most often won or lost. Here is what it means in plain words, a worked example you can follow together, and a few simple ways to help at home.

What Grade 2 children learn

• Compare two numbers by starting at the biggest place, and use more than, less than, > and <
• Put three or four numbers in order, least to greatest and greatest to least
• Place a number on a number line and tell which marks it is between

The key ideas

• To compare numbers, start with the biggest place: hundreds first, then tens, then ones.
• The number with more hundreds is greater. If the hundreds match, look at the tens, and then the ones.
• A number with no hundreds is less than any number with a hundred in it.
• The signs are > (greater than), < (less than) and = (the same). The open mouth points at the greater number.
• On a number line, numbers farther to the right are greater.

Quick examples

• 134 > 129, because the hundreds match and 3 tens is more than 2 tens
• 98 < 101, because 98 has no hundreds and 101 has 1 hundred
• Least to greatest: 87, 107, 170, 178
• On a number line marked 0, 50, 100, 150 and 200, the number 140 sits between 100 and 150, closer to 150

A worked example

How to help at home

• Ask your child to explain the first step of the worked example in their own words before you show them anything.
• Work through the "Try it yourself" question together, and talk about why the answer makes sense.
• Spend a few minutes a day on the free Tutorizer "Comparing and ordering" practice. Short and regular beats long and rare.
• If a step feels shaky, go back to the key ideas above and use objects, drawings or a number line.

Try it yourself

Want a challenge?

Next steps