Close Enough! Rounding Decimals

About This Resource

A free Grade 5 math lesson and worksheet on rounding decimals to the nearest whole number, tenth and hundredth: decimal place value, finding the rounding digit, looking at the digit to its right, using number lines and rounding money and measurements. Includes a timed lesson plan, worksheet, editable Word version and answer key.

Overview

Students learn to round decimals with up to three decimal places. They review tenths, hundredths and thousandths, underline the digit in the place they are rounding to, look at the digit to its right, and round up for 5 or more or keep the digit for 4 or less. They round to the nearest whole number, tenth and hundredth, use number lines, spot mistakes and round prices, times and distances in real life.

Resource Details

Subject: Math
Topic: Rounding Decimals
Category: Fractions & Decimals
File Type: PDF
File Size: 229.9 KB
Published: 31 Oct 2026
Downloads: 0

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Grade 5 (ages 10–11) 40 minutes Decimal place value rounding number lines estimating

Student Task

Show 3.76 on a number line from 3.7 to 3.8 and ask which tenth it is closer to.
Teach the underline-and-look-right method, then do the first questions of activity 1 together.
Students complete activities 2 to 5; answers are in the answer key.

Classroom Use

Shopping estimate: round grocery prices to the nearest dollar and estimate the total bill.
Race times: round sprint times such as 12.468 seconds to the nearest tenth and hundredth.
Decimal number line: students stand on a giant number line from 4.0 to 5.0 and walk to the nearest tenth.

Differentiation

Support: use place value charts and round to the nearest whole number first. Challenge: find all the hundredths that round to 6.4.

Answer Key & Assessment

Activity 1 checks rounding; activities 2 to 5 check understanding and real-life use (answer key included).

Learning Objectives

Round decimals to the nearest whole number, tenth and hundredth.
Use place value to decide whether to round up or down.
Use rounding to estimate with money and measurements.

Teacher Tips

Watch for students who round 4.96 to the nearest tenth as 4.10. Show on a number line that it becomes 5.0, because 9 tenths plus 1 tenth makes a new whole.

What's Included

6-page printable PDF lesson pack: teacher lesson plan with timings, materials and differentiation
Key vocabulary list (4 words with meanings and examples)
Student worksheet (5 activities)
Editable Word version of the worksheet
Complete answer key (also as a separate PDF)