Math lesson plan · 4th grade (Year 5 in England) · 30 minutes
Round multi-digit numbers
Number sense
CCSS 4.NBT.A.3England: Y4 Number and place valueEngland: Y5 Number and place value
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Round multi-digit numbers.
- I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
- I can explain each step and say why it works.
- I can check my answer and spot a mistake.
Before and after
Needs first: Round to the nearest 10 or 100; Place value to one million
Leads to: Rounding: greatest and least possible numbers; Estimate products by rounding; Use rounding to check if an answer is reasonable
Materials: Place value chart, Base-ten blocks or a number line, Mini whiteboards and pens, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 4 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Round to the nearest 10 or 100; Place value to one million). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- What is the value of the digit 2 in 245 584? → 200000Prompt: Count the places from the right: ones, tens, hundreds, thousands…
- Which number rounds to 90 when rounded to the nearest 10? (89 / 101 / 84) → 89Prompt: Numbers from 85 up to 94 round to 90.
- What is the value of the digit 8 in 488 110? → 8000Prompt: Count the places from the right: ones, tens, hundreds, thousands…
Hook · 3 min
- Show a number in the news or a price tag and ask what each digit is worth.
- Share the objective: Round multi-digit numbers. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 7 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: Round 691 872 to the nearest 10 000.
- Step 1: 691 872 lies between 690 000 and 700 000.
- Step 2: 690 000
- Answer: 690000
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 6 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- Round 21 001 to the nearest 1000. → 21000Prompt: Which two multiples of 1000 is it between?
- A stadium recorded 957 142 visitors this season. Round this to the nearest hundred thousand. → 1000000Prompt: The hundred-thousands digit is the first digit.
You do: independent practice · 7 min
- Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
- Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.
The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 3 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- A stadium recorded 628 731 visitors this season. Round this to the nearest hundred thousand. → 600000Prompt: The hundred-thousands digit is the first digit.
- Round 4437 to the nearest 100. → 4400Prompt: Which two multiples of 100 is it between?
Watch out for
- Reading 1,045 as one thousand four hundred five: point to each place and say its value.
- Thinking a longer number is always bigger, even with decimals (0.45 vs 0.5).
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Round to the nearest 10 or 100.
- Use concrete materials: place value chart.
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Move on to: Rounding: greatest and least possible numbers; Estimate products by rounding; Use rounding to check if an answer is reasonable.
- Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
- Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.
Homework and more practice
Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/math/grade-4.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder