1st Grade math estimation worksheets PDF - Mastering rounding and estimation

Before mastering the rules of rounding and estimation, it is important to understand what estimation is first.

Estimation is a way of finding an approximate answer or a reasonable guess for a math problem. Estimation can help you check your work, make decisions, and solve problems quickly and easily.

For example, if you want to buy a toy that costs $7.99 and you have $10, you can estimate that you have enough money to buy it.

Our objective in this resource has also been to enable kids understand why estimation matters and how helpful it is in their everyday life and math problems

Estimation is not only useful for math problems but also for everyday situations.

For example, you can use estimation to:

• Plan your time: You can estimate how long it will take you to finish your homework, get ready for school, or do a chore.
• Manage your money: You can estimate how much something costs, how much change you'll get, or how much you need to save.
• Compare quantities: You can estimate which container has more juice, which pile has more candy, or which group has more people.
• Measure things: You can estimate how long, wide, tall, or heavy something is without using a ruler, a tape measure, or a scale.

Let’s see another example: if you want to buy some candy and you have $5, you can estimate how much candy you can buy by rounding the prices of each candy to the nearest dollar and then subtracting them from your money.

This way, you can avoid spending more than you have or buying too little candy.

Estimation can also help you check your answers when you do math problems. For example, if you are adding two large numbers, you can estimate the answer by rounding each number to the nearest hundred and then adding them.

If your actual answer is very different from your estimate, you might have made a mistake and need to check your work.

One of the most common ways to estimate is to round numbers. Rounding means making a number simpler or closer to a certain value. For example;

37 is closer to 40 than to 30, so we can round 37 up to 40.

To round numbers, you need to look at the place value of the digits and follow some simple rules:

• If the digit in the place value you want to round is 5 or more, round up by adding 1 to the digit in the place value before it and changing all the digits after it to zero. For example;

  To round 67 to the nearest ten, we look at the digit in the tens place (6) and add 1 to it (7), then change the digit in the ones place (7) to zero. So 67 rounded to the nearest ten is 70.

• If the digit in the place value you want to round is 4 or less, round down by keeping the digit in the place value before it as it is and changing all the digits after it to zero. For example;

  To round 63 to the nearest ten, we look at the digit in the tens place (6) and keep it as it is (6), then change the digit in the ones place (3) to zero. So 63 rounded to the nearest ten is 60.

After learning how to estimate and round numbers to the nearest ten, your 1^st graders will gradually move to estimating sums and differences practice. To make this practice fun and engaging, we will provide you with the best estimation strategies for addition and subtraction.

One of the easiest strategies to estimate sums and differences is to round each number to the nearest ten, hundred, or other value and then add or subtract them. For example;

If you want to estimate 456 + 789, you can round each number to the nearest hundred and then add them: 500 + 800 = 1300. This is an estimate of the actual answer, which is 1245.

Another way to estimate sums and differences is to use compatible numbers. Compatible numbers are numbers that are easy to add or subtract mentally. For example;

If you want to estimate 456 + 789, you can use compatible numbers such as 450 + 750 = 1200. This is another estimate of the actual answer.