Place Value & Rounding | Parent Activity

Dear Families,

Your child is learning about place value (how the position of a digit determines its value) and rounding numbers. These skills are foundational for all math that comes later! The activities below use everyday situations to make these concepts real.

Why This Matters for the FAST Test

The Florida FAST assessment tests place value understanding through expanded form, comparing numbers, and rounding. Students who understand the VALUE of each digit (not just the digit itself) perform better. Rounding questions specifically test whether students understand which benchmark a number is closer to.

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Activity 1: Odometer Reading

Practice reading and writing 4-digit numbers

Next time you're in the car, read the odometer together.
Ask: "What number do you see?" (Example: 7,834 miles)
Break it down: "What does the 7 mean? The 8? The 3? The 4?"
Say it in expanded form: "7,000 + 800 + 30 + 4"
Challenge: "What will it say after 100 more miles? 1,000 more?"

Tip:

Take a photo of the odometer to practice at home! You can also use house numbers, prices, or populations on road signs.

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Activity 2: Store Price Rounding

Practice rounding in real-life situations

While shopping, pick items with prices like $3.47 or $8.72.
Ask: "About how much is this? Round to the nearest dollar."
Use a mental number line: "$3.47 is between $3 and $4. It's closer to $3!"
Try rounding prices to the nearest 10 cents: "$3.47 rounds to $3.50"
Estimate totals: "We have items for about $5, $8, and $3. About how much total?"

Important:

Don't use rounding tricks like "5 or more, let it soar." Instead, ask "Is it closer to ___ or ___?" Florida standards require understanding, not memorized rules.

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Activity 3: Comparing Big Numbers

Practice comparing and ordering numbers

Look up populations of nearby cities or distances to places on a map.
Write two numbers: "City A has 4,827 people. City B has 4,872 people."
Compare: "Which city is bigger? How do you know?"
Strategy: Start from the left! Same thousands, same hundreds... the tens are different!
Order three cities from smallest to largest population.

Tip:

Use sports scores, video game high scores, or step counts from a fitness tracker for more practice with real numbers!

Questions to Ask Your Child

"In the number 3,592, what does the 5 actually mean?"
"If I round 473 to the nearest hundred, is it closer to 400 or 500?"
"How would you write 'four thousand, two hundred six' as a number?"
"Which is bigger: 5,683 or 5,638? How can you tell?"
"Can you write 2,407 in expanded form?"

Resumen en Espanol

Valor posicional y redondeo: Su hijo esta aprendiendo que la posicion de un digito determina su valor. En 4,527, el 5 vale 500 (no solo 5). Tambien aprende a redondear numeros encontrando el punto de referencia mas cercano.

Actividades en casa:

Odometro: Lea el kilometraje del carro y practique la forma expandida.
Precios: Redondee precios en la tienda. "¿Mas cerca de $3 o $4?"
Poblaciones: Compare numeros de poblacion o distancias.

Importante: No use trucos de redondeo. Pregunte "¿Esta mas cerca de ___ o ___?"

Home Activity: Place Value & Rounding