Let’s face it, when you saw a blog post about rounding, you probably moaned and groaned a little right? Yep, students either catch on quickly or seriously struggle! There doesn’t seem to be an in-between! Luckily, I’ve discovered a fool proof way to teaching rounding that I want to share. Rounding Hills have saved my sanity year after year!
I first came up with rounding hills by accident (someone else probably has come up with this idea as well). We are rolling a ball back and forth during a group discussion and it hit me, “Make rounding like a ball…it rolls to the number it rounds to.”
Its a pretty simply concept and very visual which is just what my students benefit from. Anytime there are steps and a visual picture that they can visualize in their mind, you are destined to win the battle!
I tend to “drill and kill” this concept as I am teaching my students. Simply, because as soon as they stop practicing, they forget how to do it. We move from single hills to multiple hills when we get to rounding bigger numbers. So far, all I can use this concept with is rounding to the nearest ten. Hundreds would take too long to write all the numbers in.
I’m amazed at how successful this method is for teaching rounding! I don’t even introduce it any other way now, I jump straight into Rounding Hills as soon as we get to this unit. You totally should too! You will feel much more successful! I promise! The pictures in this post are from my Rounding Hills Interactive Notebook pack. Click here to learn more!
