Around Wednesday, October 15, we will begin the unit on Adding and Subtracting Decimals. As a whole, this unit isn't too difficult, but there are a few things that stand out every year. Here are a few things to look out for:
1. ALWAYS rewrite the decimals vertically and line up the decimals FIRST when adding and subtracting! Do not attempt to complete them when they are written horizontally- lots of mistakes happen this way!
2. When the two numbers that are being added or subtracted have a different number of digits, it may help to write in zeroes as "place holders". This helps keep the columns lined up correctly, and avoids mistakes with zeroes when subtracting...which leads to:
3. Add zeroes to the top number if it has fewer decimal places than the bottom. These types of problems are the most missed, but can be easily avoided.
1. ALWAYS rewrite the decimals vertically and line up the decimals FIRST when adding and subtracting! Do not attempt to complete them when they are written horizontally- lots of mistakes happen this way!
2. When the two numbers that are being added or subtracted have a different number of digits, it may help to write in zeroes as "place holders". This helps keep the columns lined up correctly, and avoids mistakes with zeroes when subtracting...which leads to:
3. Add zeroes to the top number if it has fewer decimal places than the bottom. These types of problems are the most missed, but can be easily avoided.