Unit 6, Session 1.

3: Comparing Decimals
Background & Context
Grade/Subject: 5th, Math (co-taught) Date: 2/5/19
Number of students: 3 (CP, HB, AV) Time: 10:30-11:00

Framework
Objective: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to accurately compare decimals to the
thousandths place.
Rationale:
IEP Objectives:
Student will be able to orally and in writing accurately explain the process of how
he solved for a variety of mathematical concepts in 3 out of 5 opportunities.
CCSS:
5.NBT.A.3b Compare two decimals to thousandths based on meanings of the
digits in each place, using >, =, and < symbols to record the results of
comparisons.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills:
Fractions – part of a whole
greater than/less than – which direction is each symbol
Place value – each digit has a place value, ones, tens, hundreds
Learner factors:
- AV reluctance work independently
 Gradual increase in responsibility, from I do to we do (tell), to we do
(ask), to you do
- HB & CP like to collaborate with each other
 Allowing them to work together
- AV & HB attend speech
 Providing support in expressing ideas with language

Access:
Accommodations:
- Allow for extra time to process written/oral information
- Provide visuals to support auditory information
- Break down complex language and directions, as well as assignments, into
smaller, more explicit and manageable parts
Modifications:
- Small group instruction
Materials:
Student workbook, place value charts, hundredths grids, thousandths vs. hundredths
visual, whiteboard markers
Possible Adjustments:
Extension
 Look at problem 6 (which is greater, 0.28 or 0.205) and draft what you might say
during our discussion. What was your method? Why does it help? “To solve the
problem, I first ______. Then I _______. This worked because ________”.
Adjustments
Since the topic of discussion will be question 6, have student redirect focus to
that problem. Guide student through practice, emphasizing connections
between the hundredths grid and the decimal. “What part of the grid shows how
many tenths there are in each number? Which has more tenths, or do they have
the same number of tenths? Does that help you figure out which number is
greater?”
Instructional Follow-up:
Based on work during explicit instruction…
For students who show mastery, continue building decimal skills through the following
lessons
For students who almost show mastery, provide review with similar problems during
WIN times (p. 368)
For students who do not show mastery, provide guided practice with similar problems
during WIN times (p. 368)
Objective: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to accurately compare decimals to the
thousandths place.

Opening
Gain student attention:
Ask students why they think our objective is important, share responses
Student friendly statement of lesson objective:
Today we’ll be comparing decimals down to the thousandths place.
Student friendly statement of relevance of objective:
Decimals are all around us (distance, money, weight) so we need to know how to
interpret the differences between them.
Review of critical prerequisite skills:
Greater/less than symbols, Fractions, place value

Body
Clear explanation of key concept:
Our main focus will be on using our knowledge of place value to compare two numbers.

1. Modeling / I Do:
- First, I’m going to show you how I might approach a problem comparing decimals. Let’s
consider problem #1 here. The problem reads, “Which is greater, 0.365 or 0.28?”
- To begin, I want to consider each number on its own. This is just like what we did
yesterday.
- First, I’ll consider this number using a place value chart to guide me. We have 0 ones
[write zero in one’s place], then our decimal point [point to decimal point], 8 tenths
[write 8 in tenths place] and 7 hundredths [write 7 in hundredths place].
o To read this number, I’d find the digit furthest to the right of my decimal point
[point to 7] and I’d look at its[Write 0.28 on place value chart].
o [review place value chart]
o To read this number, I read the whole part of the number to the left of the
decimal, in this case 0, the decimal tells me to say and then I read the decimal
part of the number. In this case that would be 28 hundredths (point to 2 then 8
then up to hundredths]. Altogether we have, zero and twenty-eight
hundredths. Say it with me! [students read number].
o It might help to write your number in fraction form for a reminder
87
[write 0 100]
o I’ll follow the same process for my other number. First my whole [write zero in
one’s place] then my decimal point, 4 in my tenths place [write 4 in tenth’s
place] 9 in my hundredths place [write 9 in hundredths place] and 5 in my
thousandths place [write 5 in thousandths place value chart].
o I’d read this zero [point to 0] and [point to decimal point] three-hundred-sixty-
five [point to 3 then 6 then 5] thousandths [point to thousandths]. Say it with
me! [students read number].
 - Now, to compare the two numbers I can use my grids to draw the number.
- Each of these squares represents a whole [show decimal grids]. The whole can be split
up in different ways. Here [point to tenths] it is split up into 10 pieces or tenths, here
[point to hundredths] it is split up into 100 pieces or hundredths and here [point to
thousandths] it is split up into 1000 pieces of thousandths.
- To draw 0.28, we should start by looking in our one’s place and work our way down
[point to one’s place on place value chart].
o We don’t have any wholes so we don’t need to shade anything for ones.
o Moving down tenths [gesture on place value chart] I see that we have 2 tenths.
A tenth is represented as a full row on a hundredths grid, and since we have 2
tenths I’ll fill in 2 rows [shade 2 rows].
o Moving down to the next place value [gesture on place value chart] I see that
we have 8 hundredths. A hundredth is represented by one box on our grid and
since we have 8 hundredths, I’ll fill in 8 boxes [shade 8 boxes].
o Now I have a drawing of the number 0.28.
- I’ll do the same thing to draw 0.365.
o First, I’ll look at my one’s place [point to place value chart]. Since we don’t have
any we won’t shade anything for that.
o Moving down to tenths [gesture on place value chart] I see we have 3 tenths so
I shade 3 tenths on my grid [shade 3 tenths on grid].
o Moving down a place value [gesture on place value chart] I see that I have 6
hundredths. I can show that by shading in 6 boxes on the grid [shade 6 boxes on
grid].
o Now I can move down to the thousandths [gesture on place value chart] and
see that we have 5. If I look back at my visual [show decimal grids] I can see that
thousandths are represented by splitting a box into [count to ten] ten pieces. So
I look back at my shaded grid and I can split one of the hundredths boxes into
10 smaller pieces [split one box into 10]. Since each of these is a thousandth
and I have 5 thousandths [gesture to place value chart] I’ll shade in 5.
o Now I’ve drawn the number 0.365!
- All that’s left to do is compare the two numbers and their drawings. I can see pretty
clearly that there is more shaded in the 0.365 grid than the 0.28 grid. This means 0.365
is greater than 0.28 so I’ll write my answer like this [write 0.365 > 0.28].
- Remember the monster always wants to eat the larger number because he’s hungry!

Criterion for moving forward:

Ask each student a question, “how can I represent a thousandth on my hundredths
grid?” “Which part of the grid shows the tenths in 0.28?”, “Which has more tenths?
Does this help us determine which number is bigger?”

2. Guided Practice / We Do:

- Let’s do this second problem all together. Each of you should have a place value chart
and a hundreds grid. Can someone read me problem 2? [Margaret ran 1.62 miles. Alex
ran 0.97 mile. Who ran farther?] What is this question asking us to do? [find which is
 greater, 0.365 or 0.28?] Can one of you please write the first number on the place value
chart? [student writes 0.365 on our place value charts. Student, will you please read this
number like I did on the problem before [follow with finger on place value chart] one
and sixty-two hundredths.
- Let’s do the same with the other number [repeat with 0.97].
- What do you think our next step is? [to draw the numbers on the grids].
- So, 1 and 62 hundredths. What will that look like on our grids? [Let students work on the
grids, guide if needed (start with your whole, then work your way down in place value)]
Let’s compare our grids. Do they are look the same? Why did we shade them this way?
- Let’s do the same thing for our other number, 0.97. [Let students work alone or
together with guidance, starting with our whole and moving down in place value] How
about these grids? Did we all shade them the same? Why did we shade them this way?
- Now, let’s use our grids to help us solve the problem. Remember, we’re trying to
determine which number is greater. Which do you think is greater? Why? [1.62 > 0.97
because there is more that’s shaded]. So, who ran farther?
Criterion for moving forward:
Contributions during guided practice, if not, try using tell then ask then remind.

3. Unprompted Practice / You Do:

Students work on problems on pgs. 366-367 altogether. Sit with students to monitor work
and understanding, providing support as needed. If we finish early, have them return to
seats to do catch-up work.

Closing
Review critical content:
What strategies did you find were the most helpful in deciding which number was
greater? Why does it help? How are your strategies similar/different?
Preview content in next lesson:
Next class, we’ll be putting some decimals in order.
Assign independent work:
P. 369 for homework

Student Evaluation
Assessment plan:
Before gathering for discussion, students will complete an exit ticket with a similar
problem to the ones they’ve been working on.
Criteria for mastery:
(2) Meeting benchmark: correctly identifies largest decimal with clear explanation of
understanding.
(2) Partially meeting benchmark: correctly identifies largest decimal but provides a
weak/confusing explanation.
(3) Not meeting benchmark: incorrectly identifies largest decimal with explanation not
showing understanding.