This activity builds on the Comparing & Ordering Decimals activity I posted today, and can be used with 5th and 6th graders. I used the beams and large beams with 10 holes in one line to represent choices for each place value. One board can be set up with each GO kit.
Decimal Operations (Rational Numbers for 6th Graders): See photos below of setup and examples. The white beams & large beams are pinned to the board with red pins in 2 groupings. An orange standoff is used for the decimal point in each grouping. The values at the top and bottom of each place value are shown for the ones, tenths, hundredths, and thousandths. This activity can be played as a game with 2 - 4 students. The 1st student picks an operation and uses green pins and yellow standoffs to pick 2 numbers using all 4 place values in each grouping. If a digit is picked in the location of a red pin, it can be changed out for a green pin. Other student(s) solve the problem correctly, together or separately, to get the point. If they don’t, the 1st student gets the point. A timer could be used. The place values included could be adjusted to alter the challenge level.
