Decimal Strips

For students, decimals are often a challenging concept to grasp. This interactive decimal strips tool helps students model and visualize decimals. When using the online decimal strips tool, students can model, explore, and compare decimals. Additionally, the decimal strips are a useful interactive tool for modeling and solving operations involving decimals.

Using the interactive decimal strips tool is easy. Simply drag the decimal strips on or off the canvas. Modify the chart so that two whole units can be displayed by clicking on the “Unit Double” button. Write on the canvas using the pencil button and click on the eraser symbol to erase. To clear the whole canvas, click on the trash can symbol.

Here are a few suggestions for using the interactive decimal strips tool:

• Ask students to model a given decimal such as .25 or .70
• Ask students to model and solve an operation involving decimals.
• Invite students to drag various decimals onto the canvas and compare their values. You can even have students write statements using <, >, and = signs.