Decimals Teaching Resources
Browse decimal worksheets, math center activities, engaging games and more fun ways to bring this concept to life in your elementary classroom.
This teaching resource collection was created by the teachers on the Teach Starter team and includes activities to help students learn to convert fractions into decimals and vice versa, as well as printables that will help them learn how to read and write decimals using place value and the decimal point, how to round decimals and more!
Build students' understanding of using decimals in money and measurement with curriculum-aligned teaching resources so you can meet Common Core and state standards.
New to this concept in the math classroom, or just looking for some fresh ideas for teaching about decimals? Explore a primer from the teachers on the Teach Starter team!
What Are Decimals? A Kid-Friendly Definition
Explaining decimals to your class? Here's a kid-friendly definition that will help!
A decimal is a special way to write parts of a whole number. Decimals are a lot like fractions, but instead of using numbers like 1/2 or 1/4, we use a dot called a decimal point to separate the whole number part from the part that is less than one.
The number before the decimal tells you how many wholes you have, and the digits after the decimal point tell you how many groups of one-tenth, one-hundredth or one-thousandth you have.
One of the most common places students will encounter decimals in real life is when using money — the dollar is a whole number, while cents are a part of the whole and are typically represented beyond a decimal point.
How Do You Turn a Decimal Into a Fraction and Vice Versa?
Turning decimals into fractions and doing the reverse are both important skills for students to develop. Here are simple processes for doing just that!
How to Turn a Decimal Into a Fraction
- Write down the digits in the decimal over its place value.
- For example, if you have the decimal 0.75 (seventy-five hundredths), you would write it as 75/100.
- Simplify the fraction by finding the greatest common factor (GCF) of the numerator and denominator and dividing both by it.
- In the example above, the GCF of 75 and 100 is 25, so dividing both by 25 gives you the simplified fraction 3/4. This means 0.75 as a fraction is 3/4.
How to Turn a Fraction Into a Decimal
To turn a fraction into a decimal, your students will need to divide the numerator (top number) by the denominator (bottom number).
- Divide the numerator by the denominator.
- If the numerator does not divide evenly by the denominator, add zeroes to the dividend to continue the division to as many decimal places as needed or desired. Don't forget to add a decimal point after the digit found in the denominator!
- Round the decimal to the desired number of decimal places, if necessary.
How Do You Round Decimals?
Another skill students need to learn is the process of rounding decimals to the nearest whole number or to a specific decimal place. This will allow them to simplify numbers, making them easier to work with! This comes in handy when doing things such as rounding to the nearest dollar amount when working with money.
Rounding can also be used to get a general sense of a number without worrying about the exact value, which can be helpful in certain situations, such as estimating a budget or measurement.
To round a decimal to the nearest whole number, you need to look at the digit to the right of the decimal point.
- If that digit is 5 or greater, you round up to the next whole number.
- If that digit is 4 or less, you round down to the current whole number.
For example, let's say you want to round the decimal 3.7 to the nearest whole number. The digit to the right of the decimal point is 7, which is 5 or greater, so you round up to 4.
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Decimal Exit Tickets for 5th Grade (Place Value, Rounding, Ordering and Computation)
Assess student understanding of 5th grade decimal standards with this set of 21 exit tickets.
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Estimation With Decimal Multiplication Matching Game
Guide your students to estimate products with decimals by using this 36-card matching game.
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Rounding Decimals Number Search Worksheets for 5th Grade
Encourage your 5th-grade students to practice rounding decimals to the nearest whole number, tenth and hundredth with this set of number search worksheets.
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Rounding Decimals on a Number Line – 5th Grade Math Worksheets
Teach your 5th-grade students how to determine missing numbers on a number line and use it to round decimals to the nearest whole number, tenth and hundredth.
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Reel It in Rounding With Decimals – Interactive Task Cards for 5th Grade
Guide your 5th-grade students to tackle questions where they must round decimals to the nearest whole number, tenth and hundredth with this set of 24 interactive task cards.
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Rounding Decimals Worksheet Set for 5th Grade
Guide your students to round numbers to the nearest whole, tenth, hundredth and thousandth with this worksheet set designed for 5th-grade students.
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Halloween Rounding Decimals Worksheets- Halloween Riddles
Have fun rounding decimals to the tenths and hundredths place with our riddle-based Halloween worksheets!
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Rounding Decimals – Differentiated 5th Grade Color by Code Worksheet
Guide your 5th-grade students to round decimals to the nearest tenth and hundredth with this differentiated color-by-code worksheet.
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Decimal Designs – Differentiated Decimal Rounding Worksheet for 5th Grade
Guide your students to round decimals to different places and create a beautiful design with this differentiated worksheet for 5th grade.
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Estimating Quotients Sorting Activity for 5th Grade
Guide your students to use rounding and compatible numbers when estimating quotients with this 24-card sorting activity.
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Base-10 Blocks - Pictorial Model Cards
A set of base-10 block cards to compose and decompose numbers, including decimals.
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It's a Match! – Rounding With Decimals Puzzle
Practice rounding decimals up to the thousandths place with 34 puzzle pair matching pieces.
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Converting Fractions and Decimals – 6th Grade Interactive Activity
Use this set of interactive slides to practice converting, ordering and solving problems with fractions and decimals.
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Subtracting Decimals With Base-10 Blocks – Teaching Slides for 5th Grade
Teach your students how to use base-10 blocks to model decimal subtraction problems with this set of teaching slides.
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Comparing Decimals – Bump Game
Compare decimals through the thousandths place with a comparing decimals game designed for 5th-grade students.
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Comparing and Ordering Decimals – Kaboom Game
Practice comparing and ordering decimals to the thousandths place with an exciting game of Kaboom!
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Rounding Decimals Board Game
Practice rounding decimals to the nearest tenth and hundredth with this printable math game.
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Adding and Subtracting Decimals – Dominoes
Use this game of dominoes to strengthen computation skills by adding and subtracting decimals through the thousandths place.
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Lost in Decimal Woods - Decimal Number Line Interactive
Recognize and analyze decimals on a number line with an exciting self-checking interactive game.
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Fraction Representations Posters - Whole, Halves, Thirds, Fourths, and Fifths
A set of posters showing the different representations of benchmark fractions.
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Ordering Decimals Worksheet - Number Lines
Practice ordering decimals on a number line with this worksheet.
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Decimals on Number Lines - Codebreaker Worksheets
Crack the number line code with worksheets practicing identification, addition, and subtraction of decimal numbers.
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Fraction, Percentage and Decimal Word Wall Vocabulary
Print a set of fraction, percentage and decimal vocabulary for use on a math word wall.
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Adding and Subtracting Decimals - Worksheets
Introduce adding and subtracting decimals using a number line with a decimal operations worksheet.
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Decimals on a Number Line - Poster
Help your students visualize and identify decimals on a number line with a printable decimal number line anchor chart.
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Fractions, Decimals, and Percents Tarsia Puzzle
Practice converting and matching fractions, decimals, and percentages with a fun tarsia puzzle.
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What's That Decimal? - Number Line Mystery Reveal
Sharpen numeracy skills by identifying decimals on a number line with an interactive mystery picture reveal.
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Decimal War Board Game
Compare decimals by means of numerals, words and Base 10 block representations with this printable board game.
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Adding and Subtracting Decimals Word Problems Worksheet
Practice solving word problems by adding and subtracting decimals to the thousandths place with this worksheet.
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Dividing with Decimals – Word Problem Task Cards
Sharpen decimal division skills while solving a variety of word problems with this set of 24 task cards.
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Comparing Decimals – Color by Number Worksheet
Compare decimals and create a beautiful stained-glass picture with this color-by-number worksheet.
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Comparing Decimals Interactive Activity
Get your students comparing decimals with this self-checking interactive activity.