Learning Objective:

Use visual models to add and subtract multi-digit decimals.

Warm-Up: How can you do math with blocks? 5 minutes

Activity 1: How can you make decimals with blocks? 10 minutes

Activity 2: How can you add decimals with blocks? 20 minutes

Activity 3: How can you subtract decimals with blocks? 20 minutes

Activity 4: How much money is left after a roller coaster ride? 10 minutes

(Optional) Extension Activity 15 minutes

Summary

Wrap-Up: Review Questions 5 minutes

Warm-Up: How can you do math with blocks?

Imagine that the big square blocks each represent 100, the rectangle blocks each
represent 10 and the small square blocks each represent 1. Try building numbers like
1110, 111, 999 and 1000 as many ways as you can. Throughout this lesson, you will
use blocks like this to add and subtract decimals.
This interactive provides students with a visual model of adding numbers in the
hundreds place, tens place and ones place. Students are given three adjustable sliders
from 1-10. Each time a slider is adjusted a new block will appear, the equation at the
bottom will change, and the total value will update.

Each big, square block counts as 100.

Each long block counts as 10.
Each small, square block counts as 1.

 Move the red points to change the number of hundreds, tens, and ones blocks.
 Observe how the changing values affects the total.

TRY IT
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Activity 1: How can you make decimals with blocks?

Try to imagine what 0.001 looks like. Decimal values often get harder and harder to
imagine the smaller they get. You can use blocks to help you to imagine decimal
values and how they add and subtract.
This interactive works the same as the previous one; but for this interactive students
will be working with decimals. Students can use the sliders to adjust the decimals in
the tenths, hundredths, and thousandths place.

INTERACTIVE

Base Ten Blocks with Decimals

Each big, square block counts as 0.1.

Each long block counts as 0.01.
Each small, square block counts as 0.001.

 Move the red points to change the number of tenths, hundredths, and
thousandths blocks.
 Observe how the changing values affects the total.

TRY IT

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Inline Questions

1. Try making the following values in the interactive. How many of each block do
you need to make 1.11 with the fewest number of blocks?
a. Thirty 0.1
b. Ten 0.1, ten 0.01, ten 0.001
c. Ten 0.1, one 0.01, one 0.001
d. Nine 0.1, nine 0.01, nine 0.001
2. How many 0.1 blocks do you need to make 1.0?
 a. 10
3. What is the value that is represented by nine 0.1 blocks, nine 0.01 blocks, and
nine 0.001 blocks?
a. 0.91
b. 0.9
c. 0.999
d. 1.0
4. Choose the correct ways that you could represent 1.
a. nine 0.1 blocks and nine 0.01 blocks.
b. ten 0.1 blocks
c. nine 0.1 blocks and ten 0.01 blocks
d. nine 0.1 blocks, nine 0.01 blocks, and ten 0.001 blocks.

Activity 2: How can you add decimals with blocks?

[Picture of colorful decimals values adding together.]

Use the blocks in the interactive to add decimal values together. Use the blocks to
answer the questions below.

Students can use this interactive to help them add and subtract decimals. Students will
start with stacks of blocks in the upper left hand corner of the screen. Click and drag
the blocks into the blue area. To subtract a block, click it once it is in the blue portion
of the window. To restack the blocks into the corner, click the Reset button. Students
can use this interactive to answer the questions below.
INTERACTIVE

Adding Decimals with Blocks

 Drag the blocks to add together decimals.

 Click the blocks to subtract decimals.
 Press the reset button to clear the blocks from the screen.

TRY IT

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Inline Questions

1. 10 small squares is the equivalent of 1 rectangle.

2. Knowing that the small square represents one one-thousandth, drag and drop
the following values to the shape that they are represented by in the interactive.
a. The large square:
i. 0.1
b. The small square:
i. 0.001
c. The rectangle:
i. 0.01
3. The small square represents 0.001. The rectangle represents 0.01. The big
square represents 0.1. How many small squares make up the large square?
a. 1 small square makes up the large square.
b. 10 small squares make up the large square.
c. 100 small squares make up the large square.
4. If the big square in the interactive represents 0.1 which is one tenth, how many
big squares would represent 0.8 + 0.2?
a. 10
5. You know that a big square represents 0.1 (one tenth). If you have ten big
squares you have ten tenths. What is another way to represent ten tenths?
a. 10
b. 1.0
c. 0.10
6. As the previous question shoed 0.1 added together ten times equals 1.0. You
can also see this as 0. 8+0. 2 1. 0¯ This shows that once you get to ten in the
tenths place you need to carry the one over into the ones place when adding.
The same is true for any place including the ones place, the hundredths and
even the thousandths place too: When you get to ten carry the one over into the
next greatest place. Try this: 0. 298+ 0. 003
a. 301
b. 0.301
c. 0.0301
d. 3.01
Activity 3: How can you subtract decimals with blocks?

[Picture of colorful decimal values subtracting one another.]

Use the blocks in the interactive to subtract decimal values from one another. Use the
blocks to answer the questions below.

This interactive is the same as the previous one. Students can use this interactive to
answer the problems below.

INTERACTIVE

Adding Decimals with Blocks

 Drag the blocks to add together decimals.

 Click the blocks to subtract decimals.
 Press the reset button to clear the blocks from the screen.

TRY IT

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7. How many of each type of block would you use to model the following differences
with the fewest blocks possible?

 0.8 - 0.7
o 1 big square
o 0.1
 0.05 - 0.01
o 4 rectangles
o 0.04
 0.007 - 0.002
o 5 small squares
 o 0.005
 0.999 - 0.121
o 8 big squares, 7 rectangles, 8 small squares
o 0.878
 0.992 - 0.003
o 9 big squares, 8 rectangles, 9 small squares
o 0.989

8. Use the blocks to find the difference of 0.021 and 0.019. How can you take away
9 small squares with only 1 small square available?

The difference is 0.002. Students may notice that a rectangle can be switched into 10
small squares. Instead of starting with 2 rectangles and 1 small square, students can
use 1 rectangle and 11 small squares. You can discuss with students about borrowing
a "1" when subtracting.

9. Use the blocks to find the difference of 0.401 and 0.002. What blocks do you have
to substitute to perform the subtraction?

The difference is 0.399. Students may notice that they have to find a way to get more
small squares because they have to take away 2 small squares and they start with only
1 small square. Normally, students would use a rectangle to subtract small squares
from. However, they start with no rectangles. Students can take 1 large square and
break it into rectangles. From one of those rectangles, students can subtract 2 small
squares.

Activity 4: How much money is left after a roller coaster ride?

[Pic of roller coaster.]

Kristy has 83¢ in her pocket when she walks into the amusement park. She spends a
quarter on a game at the arcade before getting in line for the roller coaster. While in
line, Kristy finds 39¢ on the ground and puts it in her pocket. On the roller coaster
ride, a dime falls out of her pocket. Use the interactive to add and subtract decimal
values and figure out how much money Kristy has after the ride.

This interactive is the same as the previous ones. Students can use this interactive to
answer the problems below.

INTERACTIVE

Adding Decimals with Blocks

 Drag the blocks to add together decimals.

 Click the blocks to subtract decimals.
 Press the reset button to clear the blocks from the screen.

TRY IT
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1. What decimal value did Kristy start with?

a. 83.0
b. 830
c. 0.83
d. 0.0083
2. How much money did Kristy have in the end?
a. $0.87
 Extension Activity

Students could print out large squares, rectangles and small squares in like the ones
used in the interactives to practice adding and subtracting with decimal values on a
table top.