Rounding Decimals Math Wheel

Using Graphic Organizers in Math Class

Click to download this free resource!

Math Note Taking
What is your favorite way to help students organize their math notes? Math wheels are my new favorite:-)

We know graphic organizers are not just helpful for organizing math information -they can also be helpful in creating visual cues that help students remember specific math content. Using color patterns and graphics in the math wheel increases student engagement; and little things like doodle arrows to color, block letters to color and decorate, and terms and examples to color-code can all contribute to retention.

Teaching Rounding Decimals Using the Math Wheel
One of the newest math wheels I created focuses on rounding decimals.

When I've reviewed rounding decimals with my 6th grade math students in the past, I've noticed that they often remember whatever trick or saying they were taught in previous grades, but they often can't explain the math reasoning behind rounding:-(

So, to make sure students understand the concepts behind rounding, I included number lines on this math wheel. The number lines gives students a concrete example of the distance between 1 and 2, and a visual for where 1.5 is. We can then visually draw attention to the fact that 1.6 thru 1.9 are closer to 2 and 1.1 thru 1.4 are closer to 1. The students add labels and notes, and there's space for them to add several rounding examples.

After the number lines, we move to the benchmarks. Students can draw number lines to label the benchmarks or add other visual reminders about what the benchmarks mean. 

Last, I'll have students add a rule/saying to help them remember the rounding concepts.....one that each student will remember best. ​

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Download the free math wheel from tpt.

Rounding Decimals Practice
After the notes have been added to the math wheel, students can do the practice problems all around the page. Above each number is a T, H, or TH, to indicate the place to round to (tenth, hundredth, thousandth).
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I have the students color their problems/answers according to numbers that rounded up (my example uses green) and numbers that rounded down (pink), which gives a quick, easy visual to see that they knew which way to round. A closer check will then tell me if their answers are actually correct:-)  
(You can always let them just color the background later, for fun!)

I hope you're able to use this math wheel! Let me know if you have any questions:-)

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