The Duck Story

Resources and Tools for Elementary Math Specialists and Teachers

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In this reply to a teacher's inquiry in The Math Forum's Teacher2Teacher service, Associate Gail Englert describes her technique for helping students understand how to round numbers. Her story context and follow-up lesson with number lines give meaning to the concept of halfway and provide a conceptual structure that students can transfer to other situations. The page includes a link to subsequent discussions by others on the topic of rounding.

Average

(2 Comments)

Contributed by: The Math Forum @ Drexel - Publisher, Gail Englert - Author

Math TopicNumber Sense, Number Concepts, Mathematical Practices, Mathematical Processes

Grade Level2, 3, 4, 5

Resource TypeInstructional Strategy, Reference Materials, Community

Additional Information
- AudienceEducator
- LanguageEnglish (USA)
- Education Topic
- Interdisciplinary Connection
- Professional DevelopmentNo
- ContributorThe Math Forum @ Drexel - Publisher, Gail Englert - Author
- Publication Date2001
- RightsCopyright (c) 1994-2011 Drexel University
  http://mathforum.org/announce/terms.html
- AccessFree access
Standards
- Common Core State Standards for Mathematics
  Select a standards document:
- Standards for Mathematical Practice[K-12]
- Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.[K-12]
- Reason abstractly and quantitatively.[K-12]
- Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.[K-12]
- Number and Operations in Base Ten[K - 5]
- Use place value understanding and properties of operations to perform multi-digit arithmetic.[3 - 4]
- 1. Use place value understanding to round whole numbers to the nearest 10 or 100.[3]
- Generalize place value understanding for multi-digit whole numbers.[4]
- 3. Use place value understanding to round multi-digit whole numbers to any place.[4]
Related Resources
- The Math Forum @ Drexel
User Comments
- Average
  5
  
  Teaching Rounding
  By path on 04/19/2012 - 09:43
- This story is perfect for helping students understand the rounding process. It's easily adaptable to whatever character appeals to your group.
- Average
  5
  
  I love this story!
  By phemler on 12/05/2012 - 10:24
- I think this is a wonderful way to help children understand the concept of rounding, especially the "round up" for half-way.

Mathlanding is a project of Maryland Public Television in partnership with The Math Forum at Drexel University
and the International Society for Technology in Education. © 2012 Maryland Public Television

The Duck Story

Common Core State Standards for Mathematics