break it up By Christina

Also, to answer Nicole's question-- I don't know if this will help, but our textbook uses the concept of a number line folded at the 5s for rounding to nearestt 10, for example. They ask questions like "where would a marble roll to if you placed it at 63?" This teaches the concept, and once they get it, I really think they just need to chant/write the 5 or up rule. Have them go through a specific process-- i.e. We're rounding to the 10s, so find the 10s place and circle it. Now look 1 place to the right (underline it)-- is that # 5 or up? If yes, then round up. If no, round down. This really helps to make it concrete. We've also found at my school that it helps ALOT to make sure all teachers/grades are having kids do this, and also make sure we're all consistent-- i.e. if I have them do it thhihs way, they shouldn't be told to underline, then circle in 3rd grade-- no need for unnecessary confusion, there's enough as it is!