Rounding to the nearest 100
Worksheet + game · PDF · free
Rounding to the nearest 100 uses the tens digit as the guide, just as ones guide rounding to ten. Look at the tens column: 0–4 round down, 5–9 round up. 238 is closer to 200 than 300; 350 is halfway and rounds to 400. A vertical number line in hundreds helps visualise 200, 250, 300. This supports estimating sums like 187 + 412 before calculating exactly. Remind children that the hundreds digit is what changes; digits to the right become zero. Link back to rounding to 10 on two-digit numbers.
Worked example
Round 350 to the nearest 100. The tens digit is 5, so round up. 350 → 400. For 238, tens digit 3 rounds down: 238 → 200.
Watch for this
Looking at the ones digit instead of the tens — rounding 238 using the 8 — gives wrong answers. Underline the tens digit and say 'this one decides.'
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Same facts, played
A short game that drills the same idea after the page is printed.