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Skills Covered

  • Add and subtract tenths and hundredths on hundred grids
  • Line up the decimal points and write zeros in empty places
  • Add and subtract decimals to the hundredths and the thousandths in columns
  • Add prices, finish receipts, and make change from a bill
  • Estimate with whole numbers first and check that an answer is reasonable
  • Solve one- and two-step story problems with decimals and money

How to Use This Pack

Five pages on adding and subtracting decimals. Page 1 uses hundred grids: shade 0.3 and then 0.25 more to see 0.55, shade 0.7 and cross out 0.24 to see what is left, and write the equation a shaded grid shows. Page 2 rewrites problems in boxes with the decimal points in one column, so 3.4 + 1.25 becomes 3.40 + 1.25 and 6 − 2.37 becomes 6.00 − 2.37, then solves problems already in columns. Page 3 is money: total two price tags, finish two receipts with the change from a bill, find the change for a price, and decide whether a set or the parts bought apart is the better buy. Page 4 rounds to whole numbers to estimate before solving, checks whether answers are reasonable, and adds and subtracts to the thousandths. Page 5 has one-step and two-step story problems about distance, weight, length, and money.

In the Classroom

Shade 0.4 on a hundred grid on the board and ask how many hundredths it is. Write 0.4 + 0.35 in columns twice, once lined up on the right and once on the decimal point, and ask which one adds tenths to tenths. On page 4, have students say their estimate before they solve, then compare the two.

At Home

Use a store receipt or a menu. Pick two or three things, add the prices, and ask how much change a $10 or $20 bill would bring back. Estimate first with whole dollars, then find the exact amount.

Tips for Success

  • Line up the decimal points, not the last digits
  • An empty place is a zero: 3.4 = 3.40 and 6 = 6.00
  • Add or subtract from the right, and regroup as with whole numbers
  • Estimate with whole numbers first to check that the answer makes sense
  • For money, keep two decimal places for the cents

Common Core Standards Alignment

This pack supports the following Common Core State Standards for Mathematics:

  • 5.NBT.B.7 Do all four operations with decimals to hundredths using models, drawings and place value, and explain how each strategy matches a written method.

© Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.

Adding and Subtracting Decimals

4th – 5th Grade

A 5-page decimals pack for 4th and 5th grade. Add and subtract on hundred grids by shading and crossing out, then write problems in columns with the decimal points lined up, writing zeros in empty places (3.4 + 1.25, 6 − 2.37). Add price tags, finish receipts, find the change from a bill and the better buy, estimate with whole numbers before solving, add and subtract to the thousandths, and solve one- and two-step story problems. Every page comes in color and in black and white. Answer keys included.

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What’s Included

  • 5 worksheets in color and in black and white, with answer keys (15 pages)
  • Adding and subtracting on hundred grids, and lining up decimal points in columns
  • Money: price tags, receipts, change from a bill, and the better buy
  • Estimating first, decimals to the thousandths, and one- and two-step story problems
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This worksheet is free to download, print, copy, and hand out in your classroom or at home. You do not need to create an account, and there are no watermarks on the PDF.