Let’s Round Decimals!

Have your students learned the basic rules of rounding? You may have taught them the common saying, 

Find the number, look next door.
Four or less, let it rest.
Five or more, add one more.

This helps students regardless if they are rounding whole numbers or decimals! Teach Starter has created a set of 24 task cards where your students can strengthen their understanding of decimal rounding. Students will solve problems where they will answer standard problems as well as round numbers presented in a word problem format.

Through this activity, students will show they can round numbers to the nearest hundredths place value.

Tips for Differentiation + Scaffolding 

A team of dedicated, experienced educators created this resource to support your math lessons.

In addition to individual student work time, use this set of task cards to enhance learning through guided math groups, whole class lessons, or remote learning assignments. 

If you have a mixture of above and below-level learners, check out these suggestions for keeping students on track with the concepts: 

🆘 Support Struggling Students

If there are students who need additional support, invite them to reference anchor charts or posters which highlight the rules of rounding.

➕ Challenge Fast Finishers

For students who need an added challenge, encourage them to sort the values from least to greatest once they finish all of the task cards.

🛴 Scoot Activity

Place the cards around the room in numerical order and give each student a recording sheet. Assign students or pairs to a starting point card. Give students time to review the card and record their answer in the corresponding space on their paper. Students will rotate to the next card when you say, “SCOOT!” Continue in this manner until students return to their starting point. 

👋 Exit Ticket 

Use these cards as a formative assessment after your lesson. Pick a random assortment of cards and project them on the board for the whole class to see. Students can record their answers on a sheet of paper, sticky note, or their notebook. 

Plan lessons for all ability levels with our 10 Best Scaffolding Strategies! 

Easily Prepare This Resource for Your Students

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to choose between the PDF or Google Slides version of this resource. A recording sheet and answer key are also included with this download. 

Print on cardstock for added durability and longevity. Place all pieces in a folder or large envelope for easy access. 

To keep the task cards out of pockets or under desks, punch a hole in the corner of each to place them on a binder ring. 

Sustainability Tip: Print a few recording sheets on cardstock and slip them into dry-erase sleeves. Students can record their answers with a whiteboard marker, then erase and reuse them. 

This resource was created by Cassandra Friesen, a teacher in Colorado and Teach Starter Collaborator.

Don’t stop there! We’ve got more activities and resources that cut down on lesson planning time: 

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Rounding Decimals With Visual Models – Task Cards

Use these task cards to round decimals to the nearest tenth or hundredth and match each value with a corresponding decimal model.

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Rounding Decimals – Mystery Picture Worksheet

Round decimals to the nearest whole, tenth, hundredth, and thousandth while revealing a mystery image with this color-by-number worksheet.

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Rounding Decimals – Worksheet for 5th Grade

Practice rounding decimals to the nearest tenths and hundredths place with this worksheet.