I remember that learning to read and say large numbers in Spanish was quite a challenge for me! I did not master the skill until I first traveled to Costa Rica. As $1 dollar US exchanged to about 537 colones, I got lots of practice using large numbers each time I was out shopping. Over the years in Spanish class, I believe I mostly encountered large numbers in the context of reading dates in the brief culture and history readings in the textbook, for example, «en 1491…», which did not require me to actually read or produce the number in Spanish! The following series of photographs of ancient objects forms the basis of this practice activity which allows learners to practice saying and writing large numbers in Spanish.

The activity can be done individually or in small groups. I use the powerpoint to go over it all with the whole class.

1. Read the captions aloud about each image of an ancient artifact. Be sure to read the numbers aloud. It may be helpful to write out the words for each number for extra practice.

2. Check your answers with this Powerpoint.

*See also this post about mujeres pioneras que cambiaron la historia for a similar activity to practice dates!*