We the Travellers — I: Class 5 Maths · Chapter 1

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For parents and teachers

Printable worksheet: We the Travellers — I

10 exercises (missing numbers, matching, circling, sums) to print on A4 in black and white, with the answer key on the last page. Do them after the lesson.

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Lesson text (for parents and teachers)

Every scene's words in order, as Tara reads them after Start: for reading along, or for a child who cannot hear the narration.

All aboard!
Rimjhim and her grandfather, Koka, are taking a very long train trip.
From Assam in the north-east to Kanyakumari, at the southern tip of mainland India!
Tara: Hello! I am Tara. Big journeys are full of big numbers!
Travel, then and now
Long ago, people walked, rode in bullock carts or sailed in boats.
Now we have trains, buses, planes, and even rockets!
Tara: How have you travelled? What was your longest trip?
Koka's steps
At each long stop, Koka walks 1,000 steps on the platform.
Activity: Koka has walked 6,000 steps. Hop 1,000 for each of the next 4 stops.
A new place
10 thousands make 1 ten thousand: 10,000.
It needs a new place: ten thousands (TTh).
Tara: The comma after the thousands helps us read big numbers.
Build a big number
This station sold 24,036 tickets this month.
Activity: Build 24,036 in the place-value chart.
Number names
Rimjhim and Koka play a number-name game on the train.
Activity: Match each number to its name. Watch the zeros!
Tara's number train
Tara's number train has a pattern. Can you find it?
Activity: What number goes on the next coach?
Which is bigger?
First count the digits. More digits means a bigger number.
Same number of digits? Compare place by place, from the left.
Tara: 9,899 starts with 9, but it has only 4 digits!
Pick the sign
Activity: Which sign goes between 9,899 and 10,100?
Swap two cards
Koka lays out the cards 2, 6, 9, 1, 5: the number 26,915.
Activity: Swap just two cards to make the biggest number you can. Which number do you get?
Big numbers around us
Big numbers are all around us: seats, tea bushes, books and people.
Activity: Sort the numbers: 4 digits or 5 digits?
About how far?
We have gone 2,830 kilometres. That is between 2,800 and 2,900.
It is nearer 2,800, so we say about 2,800 kilometres.
Tara: That is rounding! Below halfway, go back. At halfway or more, go forward.
The nearer hundred
Activity: The train has gone 3,460 kilometres. Which hundred is it nearer?
6,000 or 7,000?
Now round to the nearest thousand. Halfway is 6,500.
Activity: Is each number nearer 6,000 or 7,000?
How fast do we go?
In one hour, we can walk about 5 kilometres.
A plane can fly about 800 kilometres in one hour!
Tara: A rocket goes thousands of kilometres in one hour!
Buses for the trip
At Kanyakumari, 230 school children need buses.
Activity: Each bus has 50 seats. How many buses are needed for all 230 children?
Break it up
We can write a number as the sum of its places.
Activity: Match each sum to its number. Look out for empty places!
Koka's puzzle
Koka has a puzzle for the last hour of the trip.
Activity: Use 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 once each. Make the smallest number with 5 in the thousands place.
Hello, Kanyakumari!
Over 4,000 kilometres, from the north-east to the south!
You read, built, compared and rounded big numbers.
Tara: Look for big numbers on your next trip. Bye!

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Class 5
Maths Mela (Maths)
Ch 1: We the Travellers — I

Published 9 Oct 2026 · Updated 9 Oct 2026 · All chapters of Maths Mela · Official NCERT chapter PDF ↗

Chapters in Maths Mela

Chapter 1: We the Travellers — I
Chapter 2: Fractions · Coming soon
Chapter 3: Angles as Turns · Coming soon
Chapter 4: We the Travellers — II · Coming soon
Chapter 5: Far and Near · Coming soon
Chapter 6: The Dairy Farm · Coming soon
Chapter 7: Shapes and Patterns · Coming soon
Chapter 8: Weight and Capacity · Coming soon
Chapter 9: Coconut Farm · Coming soon
Chapter 10: Symmetrical Designs · Coming soon
Chapter 11: Grandmother’s Quilt · Coming soon
Chapter 12: Racing Seconds · Coming soon
Chapter 13: Animal Jumps · Coming soon
Chapter 14: Maps and Locations · Coming soon
Chapter 15: Data Through Pictures · Coming soon

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