How can I teach Rounding to the Nearest 10 and 100 effectively?

Hello Friends!

This is my first teaching blog post! I wanted to touch on one of my favorite subjects: Rounding to the Nearest 10 and 100!

Rounding is my favorite math subject to teach young students, but it hasn’t always been that way! It took a lot of research and trial to find the way that will stick with my students beyond the moments in the classroom.

In 2017, in my second grade classroom, I embarked on a research journey to teach my students the art of rounding, not as a mere trick, but as a concept they could truly grasp and apply. This passion to rewrite the narrative began the previous year when I was a first-year third-grade teacher, and I noticed how many of my students struggled with rounding numbers. As a first-year teacher, I followed what my teammates had taught for years, and we taught them using a rhyme trick with circles and underlining. The students that got it, got it, but the students who struggled were confused, they couldn’t remember what the circle or the line meant, and they for sure did not know how to apply the rhyme. They were frustrated, I was frustrated, we were all frustrated. What was even more frustrating is that it wasn’t a standard that started in third grade; it was a foundation lesson from second grade that we needed for an added skill in third. I was having to take time to teach them how to round again, so we could learn the new skill for third grade. The following year, I was moved to second grade because of budget cuts, and with my knowledge of what third graders were not grasping, I wanted to make a difference in second!

I began a journey of research and development, crafting a lesson plan that would redefine how my students perceived rounding. As I introduced the new method and my scaffolded lessons to my class, something magical happened. The once-daunting task of rounding became crystal clear. My students didn’t just follow a formula; they understood the meaning behind it, why our benchmark number choices were what they were.

I was excited! As educators do, I had to share this approach with my teammates, not only because they were also frustrated when it came to teaching rounding but because I needed to test my approach with another teacher and another class to make sure it wasn’t a fluke! The next year, we noticed a significant change. My former third-grade team marveled at how well-prepared our students were, boasting that this was the best group of “rounders” they’d ever encountered.

Three key elements made it work: teaching benchmark numbers, showing students how to determine benchmarks with a number line, and daily practice as part of our morning routine. Our students not only surpassed the standard second-grade expectations but also grasped the true essence of rounding, and as a bonus, they enjoyed the lessons as well. They would even ask for bigger numbers!

To share the magic, I’ve prepared a free resource from my rounding lesson plan. This way, if you’re interested you can test drive lesson one. You can find the link to my lesson plan on the freebies page here:

Mrs. Hopkins’s Classroom Freebies

I hope you have found this helpful! Rounding doesn’t have to be a head-scratcher! If you’re interested in getting your hands on the full lesson I am referencing in this blog, CLICK HERE!

And if you want to be taken straight to the free lesson, you can click the button below!