Lesson 11

Make Sense of Decimal Addition

Lesson Purpose

The purpose of this lesson is for students to add decimals in a way that makes sense to them.

Lesson Narrative

The purpose of this lesson is for students to extend their understanding of adding multi-digit whole numbers to evaluate sums with decimals. Students find sums in a way that makes sense to them. The activities in the lesson are designed to encourage students to think about composing new units. This allows them to build on their work with equivalent decimal values in the previous section as well as their whole number work in previous grades.
  • Engagement

Activity 2: Target Numbers: Add Tenths or Hundredths

Learning Goals

Teacher Facing

  • Add decimals to the hundredths in a way that makes sense to them.

Student Facing

  • Let’s add decimals.

Required Materials

Materials to Gather

Materials to Copy

  • Target Numbers Stage 8 Recording Sheet

Required Preparation

  • Create a large chart titled “Decimal Addition” to display during the lesson synthesis.

Activity 1:

  • Each group of 2 needs a piece of chart paper and colored pencils, markers, or crayons.

Activity 2:

  • Each group of 2 needs 1 number cube.

CCSS Standards

Addressing

Building Towards

Lesson Timeline

Warm-up 10 min
Activity 1 15 min
Activity 2 20 min
Lesson Synthesis 10 min
Cool-down 5 min

Teacher Reflection Questions

How did the student work that you selected impact the direction of the discussion? What student work might you pick next time if you taught the lesson again?

Suggested Centers

  • Tic Tac Round (3–5), Stage 3: Decimals (Addressing)
  • Greatest of Them All (1–5), Stage 4: Decimals (Addressing)
  • Jump the Line (2–5), Stage 2: Add and Subtract Tenths and Hundredths (Supporting)

Print Formatted Materials

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Additional Resources

Google Slides

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PowerPoint Slides

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