Place value to 1000: build, compare and round (Grade 3)

If your child is in Grade 3, the topic "Place value to 1000: build, compare and round" is one of the ideas where confidence is most often won or lost. Here is what it means in plain words, a worked example you can follow together, and a few simple ways to help at home.

What Grade 3 children learn

• Say what each digit in a 3-digit number is worth, including a 0 that holds an empty place
• Compare and order numbers by starting with the hundreds
• Round to the nearest 10 and the nearest 100 by looking at the digit to the right

The key ideas

• In a 3-digit number each digit has a value: in 507 the 5 is 5 hundreds (500), the 0 is 0 tens and the 7 is 7 ones.
• A 0 holds an empty place, so 507 is not the same as 57.
• To compare, start with the hundreds. If they match, look at the tens, then the ones.
• To round to the nearest 10, look at the ones digit: 5 or more rounds up, 4 or less stays. To round to the nearest 100, look at the tens digit.

Quick examples

• 507 = 5 hundreds + 0 tens + 7 ones = 500 + 0 + 7, so the 5 is worth 500 and the 0 holds the empty tens place
• 482 > 478, because the hundreds match and 8 tens is more than 7 tens
• 463 rounds to 460 to the nearest 10 (the 3 is less than 5) and to 500 to the nearest 100 (the 6 tens is 5 or more)
• 350 is halfway between 300 and 400 and rounds up to 400, while 349 rounds down to 300

A worked example

How to help at home

• Ask your child to explain the first step of the worked example in their own words before you show them anything.
• Work through the "Try it yourself" question together, and talk about why the answer makes sense.
• Spend a few minutes a day on the free Tutorizer "Place value and rounding" practice. Short and regular beats long and rare.
• If a step feels shaky, go back to the key ideas above and use objects, drawings or a number line.

Try it yourself

Want a challenge?

Next steps