GCSE Maths Year 1 Week 1 - Place Value and Rounding
- Sallyann Clark
- Sep 15
- 3 min read
Introduction
We are starting the GCSE course by revising concepts you should already be secure with from previous years' study. These basic concepts are essential for more complex concepts later on, so spend the time practising them. However, if you are arriving here having not studied maths before, do not worry, I am starting from scratch, and you will get plenty of practice time.
Unit 1: Number
Week 1: Place Value & Rounding
🎯 Learning Objectives
By the end of this uit you should be able to:
Understand and use place value for large and small numbers (AQA / Edexcel / OCR).
Round numbers to the nearest 10, 100, 1000, or decimal place.
Round numbers to a given number of significant figures.
Estimate answers to calculations using rounding.
Higher Only 🔑: Begin to explore how rounding links to error intervals, which we’ll study in Week 2.
🔍 Prior Knowledge Check
Before starting, you should be confident with:
Times tables up to 12.
Reading and writing numbers up to at least 1,000,000.
Understanding decimal places.
Recap - Wordwall Place vs Value.
Day 1 Learning - Place Value
Every digit in a number has a value depending on its place.
For example:6,583.742
6 → thousands
5 → hundreds
8 → tens
3 → ones
7 → tenths
4 → hundredths
2 → thousandths
Place value lets us compare, order, and round numbers.
Let's take this a little further with Corbett Maths - Place Value.
Play Wordwall - Place Value up to a Million
Complete Corbett Maths - Place Value Worksheet.
Day 2 Learning- Rounding to Decimal Places
To round a number:
Find the place you’re rounding to.
Look at the next digit.
If it’s 5 or more, round up. If it’s less than 5, round down.
Example: Round 4.376 to 2 decimal places → 4.38.
Recap rounding to decimal places with Corbett Maths - Rounding to 1 or 2 decimal places.
Play Wordwall - Rounding to Decimal Place.
Complete Corbett Maths - Rounding to decimal place.
Day 3 Learning Rounding to Significant Figures
Thinking Task
Complete the Transum Rounding to 2dp starter activity.
Significant figures (s.f.) are counted from the first non-zero digit.
Round 0.004562 to 2 s.f. → 0.0046.
Round 57,839 to 3 s.f. → 57,800.
Watch Corbett Maths - Rounding to Significant Figures.
Play Wordwall - Round to 2 Significant Figures.
Complete Corbett Maths - Rounding to Significant Figures.
Day 4 Learning - Estimating with Rounding
Thinking Task
Complete the Transum Rounding whole starter activity.
Estimation is useful for checking your answers.
Example:198 × 49 ≈ 200 × 50 = 10,000. The exact answer is 9,702.
Recap rounding with fuseschool - Rounding.
Watch Fuse School - Approximation and Estimation.
Play Room Recess - Astro Blaster (play different levels).
Work through Corbett Maths Estimation Exam Style Questions.
How did you do? The test had 93 marks available.
74 + marks - Excellent work, you know this topic well.
47 - 73 marks - Great job, you have a firm grasp of the basics. Review the questions you did not get correct. Can you work out where you went wrong?
Less than 47 marks - Well done, but you need to understand this better. So, go back over the learning material, see if you can find some different resources on BBC Bite Size, Khan Academy, or Youtube to help your understanding. When you feel more confident, try the questions again.
Day 5 Learning - Knowledge Check
Today, I am going to direct you to complete several activities on Transum.
🔑 Higher Level Challenge
Explain why rounding 0.049 to 1 significant figure gives 0.05, not 0.0.
Predict the possible actual values of a number that rounds to 4.3 to 1 decimal place (error intervals – Week 2).
📝 Reflection
Can I round numbers to decimal places and significant figures?
Can I estimate calculations using rounding?
Do I understand how significant figures work with very large or very small numbers?
If you can tick all of these, you’re ready for Week 2: Error Intervals.
