Rounding Whole Numbers Teaching Resources
Make rounding whole numbers fun and engaging this school year with the help of printable worksheets, fun games, interactive activities and more teacher-created resources designed to teach students how to round to the nearest number.
Aligned with both TEKS and Common Core math, the resources in this collection were all designed by our expert math teachers with your lesson plans and your students in mind. That means you can spend less time creating resources about how to round numbers and more time doing what you really love — teaching!
Explore task cards, Google Slides templates and more ways to teach kids how to estimate, how to put their place value knowledge into practice and how to easily find the closest whole number using practical strategies instead of flashy math "tricks."
Are you new to teaching about rounding in math classes? Or maybe you're just looking for some handy tips and information? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including a handy definition of round numbers to share with your students.
What Is a Round Number? A Kid-Friendly Definition
If you're teaching students how to round whole numbers, it helps to start by explaining the meaning of round numbers. Here's a handy definition you can use to introduce your lesson:
A round number is any number that is a multiple of 10 or ends in a zero. Round numbers are helpful when we are making estimations or performing math operations because they make calculations easier.
Examples of round numbers include 10, 20, 100 and 1,000. Each of these numbers is divisible by 10, and each one ends in a zero.
What Is Rounding a Number? A Kid-Friendly Definition
Once students know what a round number is, it's often easier to explain the meaning of rounding a number.
After all, this math strategy involves simplifying numbers to make them easier to work with.
Rounding a number means making a number simpler — sometimes making it bigger or smaller — by changing the value to the nearest round number.
For example, if we are rounding the number 38 to the nearest round number, we would change it to 40.
How to Round to the Nearest Whole Number
When we round numbers, we lean into our understanding of place value to figure out which number to round to. Sometimes, we round up, which means we choose a number that is higher in value than our starting number.
Sometimes we round down, which means we round to a number that is lower in value than our starting number.
Either way, we always need to look at the digit to the right of the place value we want to round to. If we want to round to the nearest ten, we look at the ones digit. If we want to round to the nearest hundred, we look at the digit in the tens place, and so on.
In this fun rounding activity, students draw lines between numbered dog and bones with numbers on them.
How to Tell When to Round Down
How do you know if you should be rounding down? This is fairly simple!
If the digit to the right of the place value we want to round to is 4 or less, we round the number down.
For example:
- If you want to round the number 114 to the nearest hundred, the answer will be 100. This is because we looked to 1 — the digit to the right of the hundreds place.
- If you want to round the number 23 to the nearest ten, the answer will be 23. In this case, we looked to 3 as it was the digit to the right of the tens place.
How to Tell When to Round Up
When does rounding numbers require us to increase the value of a number?
If the digit to the right of the place value we want to round to is 5 or greater, we round the number up.
- For example, if you were to round 27 to the nearest tens place, you would end up with 30. This is because 7 is the number to the right of the tens place, and it is greater than 5.
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Interactive Rounding Game — "Four Corners"
Play this interactive rounding game with your class or assign it to individual students for a fun way to practice rounding whole numbers.
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Rounding Whole Numbers Worksheets
Share these rounding whole numbers worksheets with your students so they can cut-and-paste their way to understanding rounding.
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Rounding With a Number Line Teaching Slides (Large Numbers)
Teach rounding with a number line using this set of teaching slides featuring numbers up the hundred thousands.
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Rounding Activity (Warm-Up Teaching Slides)
Use this digital rounding activity to review rounding numbers to the tens, hundreds, and thousands place.
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Rounding Games for 4th Graders — Race Up the Rounding Ladder!
Challenge your students with one of our many rounding games for 4th graders — Race Up the Rounding Ladder!
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Rounding Numbers PPT — Rounding Roller Coaster Method
Present this roller coaster-themed rounding numbers PPT to your students to teach or review how to round large numbers.
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Rounding PPT — "Rounding With Reasoning"
Use this engaging rounding PPT to teach your students to round with reasoning — not rules!
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Rounding Large Numbers Game — Interactive Picture Reveal
Invite your students to play this rounding large numbers game to review rounding whole numbers up to the hundred thousands place.
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4-Digit Place Value Game - Interactive Review Activity
Review a variety of 3rd Grade place value standards with an engaging Google Slides Interactive Game!
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Vertical Number Line - Rounding Worksheets
Use a vertical number line to round whole numbers to the nearest ten, hundred, thousand, and ten thousand with a set of rounding worksheets.
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Rounding Task Cards
Use place value knowledge to round numbers up through the hundred thousands place with this free set of 20 task cards.
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Rounding Games (3rd Grade) — “Rounding Match-Up”
Explore rounding games 3rd grade and 4th grade students will love, like this “Rounding Match-Up” activity!
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Rounding Numbers Game (Whole Numbers)
Play our engaging rounding numbers game in your classroom to give your students practice rounding whole numbers.
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Rounding Whole Numbers Game — Create-Your-Own!
Share this create-your-own rounding whole numbers game with your students to give them practice rounding numbers up to the hundred thousands place.
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Rounding on a Number Line Worksheet Set
Use our rounding on a number line worksheet set to give your students practice using a number line to round numbers up to the hundred thousands place.
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Rounding Anchor Chart — Rounding Roller Coaster!
Hang our rounding anchor chart in your classroom for a fun reminder of how to round numbers — roller coaster style!
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Rounding Poster and Worksheet Set (Rounding Rock)
Display this rounding poster of the “Rounding Rock” in your classroom to encourage your students to rock out rounding!
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The Case of the Missing Football – Estimating Products Escape Activity for 4th Grade
Uncover the identity of the thief who stole the football with a printable estimating products escape room activity.
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Rounding to 10, 100, and 1,000 Worksheet - Halloween Color-By-Number
Round each number to the place of the underlined digit with a fun Halloween color-by-number worksheet.
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Roll and Round Dice Game
Help your student refine their rounding skills with this set of 7 printable math games.
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Rounding to the Nearest 100 Worksheet
Help your students find the correct bone for each dog by rounding to the nearest hundreds place with this math worksheet designed for 3rd and 4th-grade students.
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Rounding to the Nearest 10 Worksheet
Teach your students to round to the nearest 10 with this printable math worksheet designed for 3rd and 4th grade students.
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I Have, Who Has – Rounding to 500,000
Use this engaging math game to practice rounding numbers through 500,000 with your students.
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Rounding Rainbow – Classroom Poster and Differentiated Worksheet Pack
Download this set of differentiated rounding worksheets and accompanying poster for your math classroom.
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Owls Round, TOO Matching Game
Practice rounding through to the nearest hundred thousands place with our set of 36 whole number rounding match-up cards.
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Rounding Numbers on a Number Line Teaching Slides
Teach students how to round to the nearest ten and hundred with an interactive, explicit instructional teaching presentation.
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Bingo Cards - Rounding Numbers Using a Vertical Number Line
Review how to round numbers to the nearest ten, hundred, thousand, and ten thousand with a vertical number line Bingo game.
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Rounding Task Cards - Numbers to 100,000
Use place value knowledge and reasoning skills to round numbers up through the hundred thousands place with a set of 24 task cards.
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Rounding Numbers on Vertical Number Lines - Matching Activity
Practice rounding to the nearest ten and hundred on a vertical number line with this set of 36 match-up cards.
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Rounding on Number Lines - Interactive Mystery Picture
Karate chop those rounding standards with a fun Rounding on a Number Line Mystery Reveal activity.
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Worksheets - Rounding Using a Vertical Number Line
Use a vertical number line to round whole numbers to the tens, hundreds, and thousands place with a pack of differentiated rounding worksheets.
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Rounding to the Nearest Ten, Hundred, and Thousand - Worksheet
Review rounding concepts with a worksheet covering rounding to the nearest ten, hundred, and thousand.