Representing Decimal Tousandths - Grade 5 Page 2

Uncomplicating Fractions to Meet Common Core Standards in Math, K–7

Th ere are clearly 1000 small rectangles in the grid since there are 100 sets of 10

rectangles. It can also be seen that 0.01 (one hundredth) is made up of 10 thou-

sandths, which is why 0.01 = 0.010, and that 0.1 (one tenth) is made up of 100

thousandths, which is why 0.1 = 0.100.

To model a decimal such as 0.124, one can shade 124 of the 1000 rectangles

(as shown on the next page). An effi cient way to do this is to use the notion that

0.124 = 0.1 + 0.02 + 0.004, coloring in one full row (or column) for the 0.1 part,

two more of the 100 squares that make up the grid for the 0.02 part, and fi nally

four more small rectangles for the 0.004 part.

Th is model also supports the notion that thousandths are very small relative to

the whole.

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