Describe how you would teach rounding with mixed decimals to the nearest tenth - Essay Example

Rounding with Mixed Decimals to the Nearest Tenth Affiliation Rounding with Mixed Decimals to the Nearest Tenth This paper is composed of a description illustrating how I would teach rounding with mixed decimals to the nearest tenth. The topic is designed for pupils in the fifth grade who have had some experience concerning the topic of rounding off numbers in the previous grades (Wingard, 2005). I will also identify some possible areas where a student may encounter challenges when rounding off mixed decimals to the nearest tenth.

To understand this section of the rounding off topic, student must have prerequisites to ensure a smooth flow of the concept. Skills of rounding off numbers and most importantly the concept of place value are essential in teaching this topic (Wingard, 2005). I will require briefly revisiting rounding up of whole numbers and placing values. Teaching how to round up decimals will be easy if the students are well conversant with the two concepts. Students should know what they are to do and where they are required to apply the round up by first knowing about the place value of tenths.

First, rounding up is done right off the decimal point. After that, students should know that the number that is to be rounded is the one that is to the left of the decimal points. It is of importance to take the students through various place values that come after the decimal point such as tenth, hundredth, thousandth and so forth. Rounding decimal numbers take a similar route to that of whole numbers (Wingard, 2005). For practical examples, I will take my students through several examples to ensure they get the concept.

Example oneRound up 3.174 to the nearest tenth. The student is required to identify the number whose place value is tenths. The number is 1. The next step is to look at the number right after 1 which is in the place value of hundredths (Wingard, 2005). The number is 5. If the digit at the hundredth place value is below five, then the value of the tenth to not change. If the digit at the hundredth place value is five or above five, one is added to the number at the tenth place value. In our case, five is in the hundredth place value hence we add one to 1.

Therefore, we will have 3.2 as our answer.Example 2Round up 5.239 to the nearest tenthPlace value of the tenth is 2. Place value of hundredth is 3. Three does not exceed five hence there will be no effect. Our answer is 5.2 I will further provide my students with worksheets that have the concept well illustrated for references. In addition, I will give two sums on the same topic that will be solved in five minutes, and I will go round checking to ensure that none of my students is left behind.

When students are learning the concept of rounding mixed decimals to the nearest tenth, they often develop some errors. Such include rounding a whole number instead of the number after the decimal point (Wingard, 2005). In addition, some students forget to add one to the tenth if the hundredth is five or above five. I will ensure that I make my students aware of these errors and ask them to be keen when it comes to computing the round-ups.ReferencesWingard-Nelson, R. (2005). Fractions and decimals made easy.

Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers.