Place Value & Rounding | Parent Activity

Dear Families,

Your fourth grader is learning about place value with numbers up to the millions! They're also practicing rounding to the nearest 10, 100, and 1,000. These skills help with estimation and understanding large numbers in the real world - like populations, distances, and statistics.

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 test whether students can identify which benchmark a number is closer to - not just memorizing rules.

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Activity 1: Population Explorer

Practice reading and comparing large numbers

Look up populations of cities or states online or in an almanac.
Pick two cities: "Miami has about 454,279 people. Jacksonville has about 971,319."
Ask: "Which city has more people? How do you know?"
Practice reading the numbers: "How would you say 971,319?"
Write in expanded form: "What's 454,279 in expanded form?"
Challenge: "What's 971,319 rounded to the nearest ten thousand?"

Tip:

Use sports statistics too! Stadium capacities, athlete salaries, or attendance numbers are great for practicing large numbers.

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Activity 2: Road Trip Rounding

Practice rounding with real distances

Look up distances between cities using a map app.
Example: "The drive from Miami to Atlanta is about 662 miles."
Ask: "If we round to the nearest hundred, about how far is it?" (700 miles)
Use a number line: "662 is between 600 and 700. The midpoint is 650. Is 662 closer to 600 or 700?"
Try different places: "Round 662 to the nearest ten." (660)
Extend: "If gas costs about $3 per gallon and the car gets 30 miles per gallon, about how much will gas cost?"

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: Place Value Detective

Explore digits and their values

Write a 7-digit number: 3,547,826
Play "What's the value?" - Point to different digits and ask for the VALUE (not just the digit).
"What's the value of the 5?" (500,000 - five hundred thousand)
"Which digit is in the ten thousands place?" (4)
"What's the value of the 7?" (7,000 - seven thousand)
Challenge: "If I change the 5 to a 9, how much bigger does the number get?"

Tip:

Have your child create the numbers! Ask them to write "the biggest 7-digit number possible" or "a number with 5 in the hundred thousands place."

Questions to Ask Your Child

"In the number 2,847,593, what does the 8 actually mean? What is its value?"
"If I round 6,482 to the nearest thousand, what do I get? How do you know?"
"How would you write 'three million, five hundred two thousand, forty-seven' as a number?"
"Which is bigger: 458,923 or 459,823? How can you tell?"
"Can you write 1,205,034 in expanded form?"
"What's the difference between the digit 6 and the value of the digit 6 in 3,654,821?"

Resumen en Espanol

Valor posicional y redondeo: Su hijo esta aprendiendo sobre numeros hasta los millones. Estan aprendiendo que la posicion de un digito determina su valor. En 4,527,836, el 5 vale 500,000 (no solo 5). Tambien practican redondear a la decena, centena y millar mas cercanos.

Actividades en casa:

Poblaciones: Busque poblaciones de ciudades y practique leer y comparar numeros grandes.
Distancias: Use mapas para encontrar distancias y practicar redondeo.
Detective de Valor Posicional: Pregunte "Cual es el VALOR del digito 5?"

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

Home Activity: Place Value & Rounding