Print one poster per exhibit (letter or tabloid size, color if possible) and tape them around the room at eye level, spread out.
Print the Gallery Walk Viewing Guide PDF for each student.
Make groups of 3–4. Start each group at a different poster.
Set the lesson presenter timer for 4 minutes per poster. At the signal, groups rotate clockwise.
At each poster, students find every numbered detail, read the placard, and write I see / I think / I wonder.
After the walk (about 20 minutes), students open The Place Value Museum on devices to solve each exhibit's challenge, or discuss the "After the walk" question as a class.
Exhibit AThe Place Value Museum · 5.NS.1 · 5.NS.3 · 5.CA.9–5.CA.10
The Powers of Ten Hall
Digits sliding on a place value chart
123
Look closely
Each place is 10×: Each place is 10 times the place to its right and 1/10 of the place to its left.
× 10: Multiplying by 10 moves every digit one place to the left: 3.6 becomes 36.
÷ 10: Dividing by 10 moves digits one place right: 36 ÷ 10 = 3.6. Dividing by 1,000 moves them 3 places.
Placard
Our number system is based on ten. Each place is 10 times the place to its right and 1/10 of the place to its left.
Multiply by 10: digits move 1 place left (3.6 × 10 = 36).
Multiply by 100: digits move 2 places left.
Divide by 10: digits move 1 place right (36 ÷ 10 = 3.6).
Divide by 1,000: digits move 3 places right.
Exhibit BThe Place Value Museum · 5.NS.1 · 5.NS.3 · 5.CA.9–5.CA.10
The Base-Ten Block Room
Flats, rods, and units
1234
Look closely
Flat = 1 whole: A 10 × 10 flat is 1 whole in this room, made of 100 hundredths.
Rod = 1 tenth: A rod is one row of the flat: 1/10 = 0.1.
Unit = 1 hundredth: One small cube is 1/100 = 0.01.
Expanded form: 2 flats, 3 rods, and 5 units make 2 + 0.3 + 0.05 = 2.35.
Placard
In this room, a flat (a 10 × 10 square) represents 1 whole.
A rod (a strip of 10) represents 1 tenth (0.1).
A unit (one small cube) represents 1 hundredth (0.01).
On the display table: 2 flats, 3 rods, and 5 units.
Exhibit CThe Place Value Museum · 5.NS.1 · 5.NS.3 · 5.CA.9–5.CA.10
The Number Line Walkway
From 0.6 to 0.7 in hundredths
123
Look closely
Zoom in: Between 0.6 and 0.7 there are 10 equal steps.
Each step: Each step is one hundredth (0.01): 0.61, 0.62, 0.63...
Find the footprint: Count 6 hundredths after 0.60: the footprint is at 0.66.
Placard
The floor of this walkway is a giant number line from 0.6 to 0.7, with 10 equal steps between them. Each step is one hundredth.
A red footprint sits on the 6th step after 0.6.
Exhibit DThe Place Value Museum · 5.NS.1 · 5.NS.3 · 5.CA.9–5.CA.10
The Comparison Gallery
Line up the decimal points
123
Look closely
Line up the points: Write the numbers so the decimal points line up in one column.
Compare tenths first: 5 tenths is more than 4 tenths, so 0.5 is greater, no matter how many digits follow.
Longer ≠ bigger: 0.405 has more digits but is less than 0.5.
Placard
To compare decimals, line up the decimal points. Compare the tenths first, then the hundredths, then the thousandths. A longer decimal is not always bigger: 0.5 > 0.405.
Exhibit EThe Place Value Museum · 5.NS.1 · 5.NS.3 · 5.CA.9–5.CA.10
The Rounding Room
Rounding 7.846
123
Look closely
Find the number: 7.846 sits between 7.8 and 7.9 on the number line.
The halfway point: Halfway is 7.85. The 4 in the hundredths place means it is less than halfway.
Round down: Look one place right of the tenths: 4 or less stays. 7.846 → 7.8. To the nearest hundredth: 7.85.
Placard
Rounding makes numbers easier to use. Find the place you are rounding to, then look one place to the right: 5 or more rounds up; 4 or less stays the same.
7.846 → nearest tenth → 7.8 (the 4 means stay) 7.846 → nearest hundredth → 7.85 (the 6 means round up)