5.NBT.3 Common Core Worksheet

Standard 5.NBT.3 asks fifth graders to read, write, and compare decimals to thousandths using the meaning of each digit, and this 5.NBT.3 common core worksheet gives students focused practice on the comparing half of that standard. By fifth grade students already know that 8 is greater than 5, but decimals break the habit they built with whole numbers: a longer string of digits no longer means a bigger number. Deciding whether 0.6 or 0.605 is greater takes real place value reasoning, and it is exactly the reasoning that state assessments put in front of students every spring.

This comparing decimals to thousandths worksheet moves from symbol work to ordering to explanation. In Part A students write a greater than, less than, or equal symbol in the box between eight pairs of decimals, including pairs like 0.900 and 0.9 that are equal despite looking different. In Part B they rewrite three sets of four decimals in order from the least value to the greatest value. Part C is a ribbon word problem that asks students to order three measurements and then write how they decided. Use it as independent practice, as a warm up before a unit test, or as a small group review with the answer key beside you.

What’s Included

• 1 print-ready PDF worksheet
• Answer key
• 8 comparison items, 3 ordering sets, and 1 word problem with a written explanation

This 5.NBT.3 common core worksheet helps students in three ways. First, the pairs are chosen to attack the specific misconceptions that trip fifth graders up: trailing zeros, unequal digit counts, and the belief that more digits means a larger number. Second, ordering a full set is harder than comparing a pair, because a student has to hold several comparisons at once and line up the decimal points every time; the three sets in Part B build that stamina. Third, the explanation line turns a right answer into evidence. A student who can write why 0.58 is the shortest ribbon has moved from a procedure to an argument, which is what the standard’s phrase about the meanings of the digits is really asking for.

Teachers and parents can extend the practice in a few easy ways. Hand out place value charts and have students write each decimal into the chart before comparing, so the tenths, hundredths, and thousandths columns line up by hand. Play a quick card game where two students flip digit cards to build decimals and the larger one wins the round. Bring in a tape measure or a kitchen scale and compare real measurements to the thousandth. Ask students to write a decimal that fits between two others, which forces them to think about the thousandths place. Finish by having a student teach the class one comparison out loud, using place value words rather than the size of the digits.

Related Resources

• Ordering Fractions, Decimals, and Whole Numbers Worksheet
• Converting Fractions to Decimals Worksheet
• Dealing Decimals Activity
• Greater Than Less Than Inequalities Song