Round to Nearest 10, 100, and 1,000
Lesson preview: the Mini Lesson and Vocabulary are open to everyone. Guided practice, exercises, the parent checklist and the printable PDF worksheet come with full access (free 7-day trial or membership).
What you will learn
- 1Round numbers to the nearest ten, hundred, and thousand
- 2Use a number line to identify the nearest benchmark
- 3Apply the rounding rule: 5 or more rounds up, less than 5 rounds down
- 4Explain why a number rounds up or down for a given place value
Mini Lesson
Rounding makes numbers easier to work with by replacing an exact value with a nearby benchmark. We round to the nearest ten, hundred, or thousand depending on how precise we need to be.
The Rounding Rule
- Look at the digit one place to the right of the place you are rounding to.
- If that digit is 5 or more, round up — add 1 to the rounding digit.
- If that digit is 4 or less, round down — keep the rounding digit the same.
- Replace all digits to the right of the rounding place with zeros.
Rounding to the Nearest Ten
- Look at the ones digit.
- If ones ≥ 5, round the tens digit up; if ones ≤ 4, keep the tens digit.
- Example: 2,349 → look at 9 (ones). 9 ≥ 5, so 2,349 rounds up to 2,350.
Rounding to the Nearest Hundred
- Look at the tens digit.
- If tens ≥ 5, round the hundreds digit up; if tens ≤ 4, keep the hundreds digit.
- Example: 46,521 → look at 2 (tens). 2 ≤ 4, so 46,521 rounds down to 46,500.
Rounding to the Nearest Thousand
- Look at the hundreds digit.
- If hundreds ≥ 5, round the thousands digit up; if hundreds ≤ 4, keep the thousands digit.
- Example: 3,700 → look at 7 (hundreds). 7 ≥ 5, so 3,700 rounds up to 4,000.
Words to know
Round
To replace a number with the nearest "easier" benchmark value
e.g. Round 47 to the nearest ten: 50.
Benchmark
A clear, easy reference number such as 10, 100, or 1,000
e.g. On the number line, 100 is a benchmark.
Rounding digit
The digit in the place you are rounding to
e.g. In 2,349 → nearest ten, 4 is the rounding digit.
Round up
To raise the rounding digit by 1 when the next digit is 5 or more
e.g. 349 rounds up to 350.
Round down
To keep the rounding digit the same when the next digit is 4 or less
e.g. 342 rounds down to 340.
Tip: find the halfway point between the two benchmarks. If the number is at or above the halfway point, it rounds up. If it is below, it rounds down.
Unlock the full HSEA system for 7 days.
Add your first kid profile and your 7 days start: every lesson in every grade, saved progress for each child. Nothing to set up, no card required, nothing to cancel.
- ✓ All 1,880 lessons, Grades 1–6, every subject
- ✓ Profiles + saved progress for every kid
- ✓ Printable lessons with answer key