Help Strugglers with Rounding by Using This…

To alleviate misconceptions that crop up when teaching rounding, use a number line that counts by the number you are rounding to.  For example, if you are rounding to the nearest 10, then have a number line that counts by 10’s.  If the number is 34, students will be able to find that the 34 will fall between 30 and 40.

0     10     20     30     40     50     60     70     80     90     100

Often students will assume a number like this rounds down to 20 because they see that the 2 in 20 is before 3 in 30 so it only stands to reason to students that 20 is the number 34 would round down to.  When students are able to see a number line, they are able to actually visualize which ten the number is closest to.  For a free number line that counts by ten click here.