5th Grade Math Lesson

Decimal Place Value and Comparison to Thousandths: Olympic Sprint Times

Shared by A STEM Educator

5th GradeUniversal Design for Learning45 min

Learning Objective

Students will read, write, and compare decimals to the thousandths place using place value reasoning, and will justify comparisons using place value language — accessible through visual, verbal, and written expression.

Lesson Overview

Students explore decimal place value to the thousandths using Olympic sprint times as a real-world context, building understanding of how digit position — not decimal length — determines value. The lesson directly addresses the misconception that longer decimals are always larger.

Materials

Pencil and paper
Whiteboard and markers
Phone or basic calculator (optional, for checking)

Scaffolded Task Progression

1Task 1

Warm-Up — Place Value Chart Read (Floor)

Your teacher draws these three place value charts on the board. Write the decimal number each chart represents.

Chart A:

[ Interactive graph / diagram, available in the full lesson ]

Chart B:

[ Interactive graph / diagram, available in the full lesson ]

Chart C:

[ Interactive graph / diagram, available in the full lesson ]

Write the decimal each chart shows. Then circle the digit in the tenths place in each number.

2Task 2

Name That Place — Sprint Times (Floor)

In the 100-meter sprint, finishing times are measured to the thousandths of a second. Here are four athletes' times:

Athlete	Time (seconds)
Athlete A	$9.785$
Athlete B	$9.804$
Athlete C	$10.030$
Athlete D	$9.758$

For each time, answer these questions:

1. What digit is in the tenths place?
2. What digit is in the hundredths place?
3. What digit is in the thousandths place?
4. What is the value of the underlined digit?
- Athlete A:

9. \underline{7} 85

- Athlete B:

9.8 \underline{0} 4

- Athlete C:

10.0 \underline{3} 0

- Athlete D:

9.75 \underline{8}

Choose how to show your thinking: Write your answers in the table below, OR draw a place value chart for one athlete and label each digit's place.

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