Mathematics
Intermediate
50 mins
Teacher/Student led
+80 XP
Teacher-led from the board. Pupils do not need a device, but can follow on one.
What you need:
IWB/Projector/Large Screen

Comparing and Ordering Decimals

Learn to compare and order decimals by reading the tenths first, then the hundredths. Discover why a decimal with more digits is not always the larger number.

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    Fraction strips

    1 - Getting Started ~4 mins

    Two shop shelf price tags, one reading €0.30 and one reading €0.03Two price tags are on the shelf: one reads €0.30 and the other reads €0.03. Is this a spot-my-mistake? Have a look: are these two prices the same amount of money, or is one of them dearer?

    And here is a trickier one to keep in your head: 0.25 and 0.5. One of these has more digits after the point. Does that automatically make it the bigger number? Hands up when you have a hunch.

    2 - Watch and Notice ~9 mins

    Two fraction strips at a time, each shaded to show one decimal. The longer the shaded part, the bigger the decimal. Look at each pair and decide which reaches further.

    3 - Try It Together ~11 mins

    Today we work through these together on the fraction strips, shading each decimal and reading which reaches further. We start easy and build: first 0.2 against 0.5, then 0.7 against 0.4, then the tie-breaker 0.4 against 0.45 where the tenths are equal, and finally 0.05 against 0.5 — the tricky one, so we say each aloud before we check it.

    After each Check on the strips, open its line here and say which decimal is bigger, and why.

    Check: 0.2 or 0.5?

    0.5 is bigger. 5 tenths is more than 2 tenths, so its shading reaches further.

    Check: 0.7 or 0.4?

    0.7 is bigger. 7 tenths is more than 4 tenths, so its shading reaches further.

    Check: 0.4 or 0.45?

    0.45 is bigger. Both have 4 tenths, so look at the hundredths: 0.45 has 5 hundredths more, and 0.4 has none.

    Check: 0.05 or 0.5?

    0.5 is bigger. 0.5 is 5 tenths, but 0.05 is only 5 hundredths. The 5 is in a smaller place, so its shading is a thin sliver.

    Compare by shaded length

    4 - Write the Correct Sign in Your Copy ~2 mins

    COPYBOOK MOMENT

    In your maths copy, write these three pairs one under the other and put the correct sign between each pair — more than, less than, or equals:

    • 0.3 and 0.5
    • 0.7 and 0.25
    • 0.6 and 0.60

    Underline the digit that decided each one, and think about the last pair carefully before you choose your sign.

    Pupil practice
    Module 3 · Fractions and First Decimals Number
    Lesson 43 · Comparing and Ordering Decimals
    Download Activity Book page (PDF)
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