In a six-problem learning activity, children are guided to solve word problems that involve rounding to the nearest ten and nearest hundred. A commentary and answer key provide different approaches that learners may take in solving the...

Common Core is all about getting your learners to open their minds and think about the why and how. This problem has them thinking about unknown numbers and their relationship with one another when we round and...

Mathematicians need to know that not all numbers are rational. We approximate irrational number with rational numbers. That is why a calculator may be misleading. This task give learners an opportunity to see how rounding a number and...

Don't be irrational! Use this pre-test to assess your classes' ability to work with all types of real numbers. The lesson asks learners to estimate value, evaluate roots, and order numbers. This begins a series of lessons on the real...

Here's a video that presents several numerical expressions to be evaluated using a calculator.Viewers come to realize that sometimes it is not just a matter of punching in the numbers, but they also need to be concerned about how...

Is Aunt Nancy shrinking? Find out by calculating with the average height women lose each year. The activity practices multiplying and dividing with decimals and rounding the final answer.

When three classrooms are to split up prize money, your mathematicians must find the percentage that each class deserves and calculate the total amount. There is an option to use a calculator and practice rounding. 

Test young mathematicians' knowledge with an assessment aligned to California's fifth grade state standards. The exam covers a multitude of concepts including fractions and decimals, positive and negative numbers, measurement; and...

Investigate how rounding affects values. Individuals watch a video about how to find the highest and lowest possible numbers that result in a given value when rounded to a certain place value. They finish by completing a worksheet of...

Hooray for chocolate chip cookies! Ask your mathematicians to triple a chocolate chip cookie recipe and then reduce the recipe by one-fourth. Your class may need two days to complete, tripling the recipe the first day and reducing the...

Boiling down any division problem to a one-digit divisor problem sure makes estimation easy. The lesson shows how to estimate division problems by using place value understanding and basic arithmetic facts to simplify the division. Some...

Trying to get your class to think of decimals as fractions and vice versa can lead to interesting discussions. After all, we can usually understand quickly that 1/4 is .25 but why is 1/7 not so easy to convert? This activity looks...

No calculators! Assure your learners that they can find the square root of a large number. All they need are two known squares close by and a table. Come up with an additional practice and your number crunchers will have it mastered in...

Prompt class members to find the value of various digits, and to write numbers in standard form and written form. Pupils also round multi-digit numbers to the nearest hundred and thousand.

Have scholars show what they know with a 20-page assessment aligned to the California State Standards. The test covers concepts such as large and whole numbers, all four mathematical operations, fractions, decimals, geometric figures,...

Determine the right mix of cans of cat food. The resource consists of an assessment task to determine the cost to feed two cats for a specific number of days and requires scholars to interpret remainders within a context....

Assess scholars' knowledge with a 22-page assessment that covers place value, patterns, probability, estimation, measurement, geometric figures; and their ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide proficiently. 

Take a spin to determine experimental probability. Small groups spin a spinner and keep track of the sums of the spins and calculate the resulting probabilities. Pupils use simulated frequencies to practice finding other probabilities to...

Work it out — find the average time clients spend at a gym. Pupils use a table of random digits to collect a sample of times fitness buffs are working out. The scholars use their random sample to calculate an estimate of the mean of the...

Sales tax rates vary; do the math to find the right rate! Pupils use before tax amounts and after tax amounts to determine the tax rate. Rounding makes the task challenging.

How much can a company round numbers without being misleading? Learners investigate the accuracy of claims made by a sports drink company. Teachers could easily modify the activity by bringing in their own beverage bottles, or by taking...

Sometimes dealing with decimals is so much easier than dealing with fractions. The ninth lesson in a 21-part module has the class consider situations when it might be easier to add or subtract fractions by first converting to...

Using clocks as dining tables? Scholars estimate the number of people that can sit around the face of the clock on the Royal Liver Building in Liverpool. They use estimation to justify their responses.

Make sure there is enough ice cream on hand. Learners try to find out how much ice cream to buy for a sports event. Scholars use a pie chart showing the percent of a sample of people who like different flavors of ice cream. Using the...