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5th Grade Inequalities Resources

7 5th grade inequalities resources: 2 activities, 2 worksheets, 1 song and more. How teachers use these

5th Grade Inequalities Resources

7 5th grade inequalities resources: 2 activities, 2 worksheets, 1 song and more. How teachers use these

Activity
Activity5th GradeLet's Compare Fractions Activity

This let's compare fractions activity is a card game for 3rd to 5th grade where students compare fractions with bar models and record each match. Answer key included.

5th GradeMathFractionsActivities
Worksheet
Worksheet5th Grade5.NBT.3 Common Core Worksheet

This 5.NBT.3 common core worksheet gives 5th graders eight decimal comparisons, three ordering sets, and a word problem to explain. The answer key is included, so it is ready for no-prep place value review.

5th GradeEnglishDecimalsWorksheets
Video
Video5th GradeGreater Than Less Than Inequalities Song
5th GradeMathCardinal NumbersSongs
Activity
Activity5th GradeDealing Decimals Activity

In this Dealing Decimals Activity, students compare two decimals to hundredths by reasoning about their size using the symbols >, <, or = by playing War!

5th GradeMathDecimalsActivities
Workbook
Workbook5th GradeSmarter Balanced (CAASPP / SBAC) 5th Grade Math Practice Test Workbook

A Smarter Balanced (CAASPP / SBAC) 5th grade math practice test workbook for teachers, with a pretest, skill practice for all 37 standards, mixed review and 2 full-length practice tests. Answer key included, so test prep is ready to go.

5th GradeMathExpressions & EquationsTest Prep
Worksheet
Worksheet5th GradeComparing Numbers M&M's Subtraction Worksheet

Using thisComparing Numbers M&M's Subtraction Worksheet, students compare the amounts of different color M&M's in their group.

5th GradeMathInequalitiesWorksheets
Common Core Lesson
Common Core Lesson5th Grade5.NF.5 Fifth Grade Common Core Lesson

In this 5.NF.5 Fifth Grade Common Core Lesson, students compare the size of a product to the size of one factor to the other factor.

5th GradeMathInequalitiesCommon Core Lessons
From our teachers' playbook

The alligator always eats the bigger number

What do 5th graders learn about inequalities?

In 5th grade, comparing numbers gets a serious upgrade. Kids compare decimals to the thousandths place with >, < and =, and learn why 0.5 > 0.427 even though 427 looks bigger. They compare fractions with unlike denominators and reason about multiplication: is 3 × ⅔ more or less than 3? Many classes also meet their first simple inequality, like x > 4, and find several numbers that make it true. The click: you compare by place and size, never by how many digits a number has.

Our favorite ways to make inequalities stick

Fifth graders are ready to explain their thinking, not just point the alligator. These moves get them there.

Line up the decimal points

Write 0.6 and 0.58 on the board and think aloud: "I line up the decimal points. I can add a zero, so 0.6 is 0.60. Sixty hundredths beats fifty-eight hundredths." Then hand the marker to a student for the next pair. Watching the steps once saves a dozen wrong guesses.

Why it works: showing first, practicing together, then letting kids try alone is the "gradual release" model teachers have relied on for decades (Pearson and Gallagher, 1983).

5.NBT.3 Common Core WorksheetTry it with5.NBT.3 Common Core WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

Fold it to compare it

Give kids paper strips and have them fold and shade 3/4 and 5/8 on two strips of the same length. Lay them side by side and the bigger fraction is obvious. Then ask them to write the inequality and explain it in a sentence.

Why it works: going from real objects to pictures to symbols is a core recommendation of the U.S. Department of Education's elementary math guide.

Let's Compare Fractions ActivityTry it withLet's Compare Fractions ActivityActivitiesOpen it →

Sing the symbols

Kids mix up > and < well into 5th grade, and a catchy tune fixes it fast. Play the song once, then have the class sing the chorus as a warm-up before every comparing task this week.

Why it works: a catchy, repeating tune gives the brain a hook to hang words on, so sung text is remembered better (Wallace, 1994).

Greater Than Less Than Inequalities SongTry it withGreater Than Less Than Inequalities SongSongsOpen it →

Make it feel like play

Comparing is naturally competitive, so lean into it! These are kid favorites.

Dealing Decimals ActivityActivities

Decimal showdown

Partners flip number cards to build decimals, compare them out loud and the bigger number keeps both cards.

Open Dealing Decimals Activity →Comparing Numbers M&M's Subtraction WorksheetWorksheets

Candy comparisons

Sort and count candies, then write comparison sentences about the groups. Sweet practice with symbols.

Open Comparing Numbers M&M's Subtraction Worksheet →5.NF.5 Fifth Grade Common Core LessonCommon Core Lessons

Bigger or smaller?

A full lesson on predicting whether a product will be bigger or smaller than the number you started with. Great for a small group.

Open 5.NF.5 Fifth Grade Common Core Lesson →

What's on this page

2 Activities2 Worksheets1 Song1 Video1 Test Prep1 Assessment1 Workbook1 Common Core Lesson

Teacher favorites right now: Let's Compare Fractions Activity, 5.NBT.3 Common Core Worksheet and Greater Than Less Than Inequalities Song.

Questions teachers and parents ask about 5th grade inequalities

What does inequalities mean in 5th grade math?

It means comparing two amounts that are not equal using greater than (>) or less than (<). In 5th grade that includes decimals to the thousandths, fractions with different denominators and simple statements like x > 4.

How do you compare decimals in 5th grade?

Line up the decimal points and compare digit by digit from left to right. Adding zeros to the end can help, since 0.4 and 0.400 are equal. The first place where the digits differ tells you which number is bigger.

Why do kids think 0.427 is bigger than 0.5?

They are reading the digits as whole numbers, so 427 seems bigger than 5. Show both as money or on a hundredths grid and they quickly see that 5 tenths is worth more than 4 tenths.

How can I help my child remember greater than and less than?

The classic trick is that the open mouth always eats the bigger number. Better still, have your child read every comparison aloud as a full sentence: "Five tenths is greater than four hundred twenty-seven thousandths."

Keep exploring

5th Grade Math ResourcesInequalities Resources

Written by the Have Fun Teaching team of elementary teachers and homeschoolers. Research: Pearson, P. D., & Gallagher, M. C. (1983). The instruction of reading comprehension. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 8(3). U.S. Department of Education, What Works Clearinghouse (2021). Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Intervention in the Elementary Grades. Wallace, W. T. (1994). Memory for music: Effect of melody on recall of text. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 20(6).