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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Coffee Shop Calculations – Estimation With Decimals Task Cards
Download this set of 24 task cards to help your students practice estimating decimal sums and differences with benchmark numbers.
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Decimals on Number Lines - Task Cards
Sharpen your students’ abilities to identify decimals on a number line with a set of task cards.
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Diving Into Decimals – Google Slides Interactive Activity
Use this interactive activity to take a deep dive into decimals while improving skills with decimal operations and place value concepts.
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Adding and Subtracting Decimals – Small Group Bingo
Review how to add and subtract decimals with a small group bingo game!
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Place Value Chart – Printable Banner
Use this printable place value chart filled with different ways to represent a number in your classroom.
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Subtracting Decimals with Base-Ten Blocks – Board Game
Use this board game to encourage friendly competition while practicing how to subtract decimals with visual models.
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Decimal Operations Math Mats
Get students reviewing decimal operations with these engaging, puzzle-based math mats.
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Complex Dot-to-dot Worksheet – Ordering Fractions and Decimals (Cat)
Practice ordering fractions and decimals with this complex dot-to-dot worksheet.
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I Have, Who Has? Game – Fraction, Decimal and Percentage Equivalence
Reinforce students' understanding of fraction, decimal and percentage equivalence with a whole-class game.
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Comparing Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages – Worksheet
Strengthen student understanding of how to compare fractions, decimals, and percentages with this worksheet.
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Decimal Place Value Game – Find A Decimal Who...
Explore decimal place value with your students using an interactive whole-class game.
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Multiplying Decimals Bingo
Solve for products of decimals to the hundredths place with a whole-class bingo game.
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Comparing and Ordering Decimals Task Cards
Have students practice comparing and ordering decimals to the thousandths place with this set of 16 task cards.
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Adding and Subtracting Decimals – Differentiated Mystery Image Worksheets
Have students practice adding and subtracting decimals with this mystery image worksheet.
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Addition and Subtraction with Decimals – Task Cards
Practice adding and subtracting multi-digit decimals with this set of 16 task cards.
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Compare and Order Decimals Teaching Slides
Teach your students to compare and order decimals with this 19-slide instructional slide deck.
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Naming Decimals Worksheet
Get students applying decimal place value skills to represent numbers to the thousandths place in standard, word and expanded form.
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Math Mazes (Equivalent Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages)
Determine equivalent fractions, decimals, and percentages with this puzzling math maze.
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Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages Vocabulary Poster
A poster to help students learn the vocabulary associated with fractions, decimals, and percentages.
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Place Value Chart - Thousandths Place
A blank place value chart to use when exploring decimal numbers.
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Number Talks – Decimal Operations Task Cards
Explore decimal operations with your students using this set of 26 number talk task cards.
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Fractions and Decimals Matching Game
Practice matching equivalent fractions and decimals with this set of 15 cards that focus on tenths and hundredths place values.
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Place Value Chart with Decimals
Display this place value anchor chart in your classroom to remind your students of place value from millions to millionths.
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Calculating Discounts and Sale Price Teaching Slides
Teach your students how to calculate discounts and sale prices using fractions and decimals with this comprehensive teaching presentation.
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Multiplying by 1,000 Worksheet
A worksheet for students to complete when learning how to multiply by 1,000.
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Comparing and Ordering Decimals Interactive Activity
Get students to compare and order decimals this grocery-themed interactive digital resource, perfect for lesson introductions and wrap-ups.
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Dividing Decimals by Whole Numbers Worksheet Pack
Download these dividing decimals by whole numbers worksheets to provide your students with practice using visual models and the standard algorithm.
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Multiplying Decimals by Decimals Worksheet Pack
Download these multiplying decimals by decimals worksheets to provide your students with practice using visual models, area models and the standard algorithm.
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Rounding Numbers With Decimals – Teaching Slides and Worksheet for 5th Grade
Teach your students how to round to the nearest whole number, tenth and hundredth with this set of teaching slides and accompanying worksheet.
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Estimating Decimal Sums and Differences Task Cards
Challenge your students to use rounding and benchmark values to estimate sums and differences of decimals with this set of 24 task cards.
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Plan a Halloween Party – Estimation Project
Plan your own Halloween party and practice estimating sums, differences and products of whole numbers and decimals with an engaging math project!
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Estimating Decimal Sums and Differences Interactive Activity
Take your students on a safari adventure while practicing how to estimate decimal sums and differences with this interactive activity.