What is the difference between a tenths grid and a hundredths grid?

A tenths grid divides one whole into 10 equal parts (each worth 0.1), usually drawn as a strip, while a hundredths grid divides it into 100 equal cells (each worth 0.01), drawn as a 10×10 square. One column or row of a hundredths grid equals one part of a tenths grid, which is why 0.7 and 0.70 shade the same amount. This generator makes both, plus a thousandths grid for three-decimal-place work.

How do I convert between decimals and fractions on a grid?

Count the shaded cells for the numerator and use the total cells as the denominator: 37 shaded cells out of 100 is 37/100 = 0.37. Then simplify by dividing the numerator and denominator by their greatest common factor — 35/100 becomes 7/20. The tool does this automatically and shows the decimal, the simplified fraction, and the word form together.

How do decimal grids help compare decimals?

Compare mode shades two decimals on identical grids side by side, so the bigger number is simply the one with more shaded cells. That settles common mix-ups like 0.4 versus 0.37: 40 shaded cells visibly cover more area than 37, so 0.4 > 0.37, and the tool adds the correct symbol between the grids.

Can I show decimal addition and carrying on a grid?

Yes. Add mode shades the first addend in one color and the second in another on the same grid sequence. For 0.35 + 0.28 the 63 shaded cells show the sum directly; for 0.75 + 0.40 the cells fill one whole grid and carry 15 cells into the next, making regrouping visible — 100 hundredths become 1 whole.

Can I print decimal grid worksheets?

Yes. Choose "Write the number" to print shaded grids with blank answer lines, or "Shade it yourself" to print the decimal above empty grids for students to shade. Every worksheet exports as a crisp SVG or high-resolution PNG that prints cleanly at any size.

Math Tool

Decimal Grid Generator Tenths, Hundredths & Thousandths

Q: What is a decimal grid?

A decimal grid is a square or strip divided into equal parts that represent decimal place values. A hundredths grid has 10×10 = 100 cells, so each cell is 0.01; a tenths grid has 10 equal parts of 0.1 each; a thousandths grid has 1000 cells of 0.001 each. Shading cells shows the decimal as a visible amount — 37 shaded cells on a hundredths grid is 0.37.

Shade a decimal grid online — tenths strips, hundredths grids, and thousandths cubes. Compare decimals, show addition with carrying, and print worksheets.

Tenths strips, 10×10 hundredths grids, thousandths cubesDecimals or fractions in — multi-grid for numbers over 1Compare two decimals or add with visible carryingWorksheet modes, SVG & PNG export

Grid type

Mode

Decimal or fraction

Worksheet

Shading colorSecond color (add)

Decimal Grid Examples

Common ways to shade tenths, hundredths, and thousandths grids

View:

0.37 on a Hundredths Grid

The default example: 37 shaded cells out of 100 make 0.37, read as thirty-seven hundredths and written as the fraction 37/100.

hundredths0.37

Adding With a Carry (0.75 + 0.40)

Blue cells for 0.75 and orange cells for 0.40 fill one whole grid and carry 15 cells into the next — decimal regrouping made visible.

additioncarry

Tenths Strip (0.7)

A tenths grid divides one whole into 10 equal parts — 7 shaded parts show 0.7, the same amount as 70 hundredths.

tenths0.7

Comparing 0.40 and 0.37

Side-by-side grids make decimal comparison concrete: 40 shaded cells beat 37, so 0.40 is greater than 0.37.

compareplace-value

Numbers Greater Than 1 (2.45)

Decimals above 1 need more than one grid: two fully shaded wholes plus 45 hundredths make 2.45.

multi-grid2.45

Blank Worksheet Grids

Empty hundredths grids with answer lines, ready for shade-the-decimal or write-the-decimal practice.

blankworksheet

What is a decimal grid?

A decimal grid is a place-value manipulative that turns an abstract decimal into something you can count. The most common version is the hundredths grid: a square divided into 10 rows of 10, so each of the 100 cells is exactly one hundredth (0.01) of the whole. Shading 37 cells shows 0.37 — no symbols, just thirty-seven little squares. Close cousins are the tenths grid (a strip of 10 equal parts, each worth 0.1) and the thousandths grid (the base-ten cube flattened into 1000 tiny cells, each worth 0.001). Because every cell is identical, a decimal grid makes the size of a decimal visible: 0.4 and 0.37 stop being confusing strings of digits and become 40 shaded cells versus 37. This generator draws each grid exactly, shading precisely round(value × 100) cells on a hundredths grid, so the picture always matches the number.

Place value with grids

The three grid types are the same idea at three scales, which is exactly how decimal place value works. A tenths strip split ten ways gives hundredths; a hundredths grid split ten ways gives thousandths. Moving one grid finer multiplies the number of cells by ten, which is why 0.7, 0.70, and 0.700 all shade the same amount — a hands-on proof that trailing zeros after the decimal point change nothing.
Numbers greater than 1 simply need more than one whole. Enter 2.45 and the tool shades two full hundredths grids plus 45 cells of a third, making the "2 and 45 hundredths" structure explicit: whole grids are ones, full rows or columns are tenths, single cells are hundredths.
Every shaded grid also reports its reading three ways — the decimal (0.37), the simplified fraction (37/100, or 7/20 for 0.35), and the word form (thirty-seven hundredths) — so students practice moving between all three representations at once.

Comparing and adding decimals

Compare mode puts two decimals side by side on identical grids and places the correct <, = or > symbol between them. It is the cleanest answer to the classic misconception that 0.37 is bigger than 0.4 "because 37 is more than 4": on the grids, 40 shaded cells plainly cover more area than 37.
Add mode shades two addends in two colors on the same grid sequence — 0.35 in blue followed by 0.28 in orange — so the sum is just the total shaded area. When the cells overflow one whole (0.75 + 0.40), the overflow visibly carries into the next grid: 100 cells make a new whole, mirroring the regrouping step in column addition.
The same picture runs in reverse for subtraction talk-alouds — cover the orange cells and ask what is left — and it sets up the standard algorithm by showing why tenths are added to tenths and hundredths to hundredths.

Classroom worksheets

Two worksheet variants cover both directions of decimal-grid fluency. "Write the number" shades the grids but leaves blank answer lines, so students count cells and record the decimal, fraction, and word form themselves. "Shade it yourself" does the opposite: it prints the decimal and its word form above empty grids for students to shade, which is the better workout for place-value understanding.
Because the grids are deterministic, an answer key is the same settings with the worksheet toggle off — the shaded cells always match the number exactly, down to the last hundredth.
Everything renders in your browser and exports as a crisp SVG or a high-resolution PNG, so grids print sharply on any paper size and drop cleanly into worksheets, anchor charts, and slides.

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Decimal Grid Generator Tenths, Hundredths & Thousandths

Shade a decimal grid online — tenths strips, hundredths grids, and thousandths cubes. Compare decimals, show addition with carrying, and print worksheets.

Tenths strips, 10×10 hundredths grids, thousandths cubesDecimals or fractions in — multi-grid for numbers over 1Compare two decimals or add with visible carryingWorksheet modes, SVG & PNG export

What is a decimal grid?

Place value with grids

The three grid types are the same idea at three scales, which is exactly how decimal place value works. A tenths strip split ten ways gives hundredths; a hundredths grid split ten ways gives thousandths. Moving one grid finer multiplies the number of cells by ten, which is why 0.7, 0.70, and 0.700 all shade the same amount — a hands-on proof that trailing zeros after the decimal point change nothing.

Numbers greater than 1 simply need more than one whole. Enter 2.45 and the tool shades two full hundredths grids plus 45 cells of a third, making the "2 and 45 hundredths" structure explicit: whole grids are ones, full rows or columns are tenths, single cells are hundredths.

Every shaded grid also reports its reading three ways — the decimal (0.37), the simplified fraction (37/100, or 7/20 for 0.35), and the word form (thirty-seven hundredths) — so students practice moving between all three representations at once.

Comparing and adding decimals

Compare mode puts two decimals side by side on identical grids and places the correct <, = or > symbol between them. It is the cleanest answer to the classic misconception that 0.37 is bigger than 0.4 "because 37 is more than 4": on the grids, 40 shaded cells plainly cover more area than 37.

Add mode shades two addends in two colors on the same grid sequence — 0.35 in blue followed by 0.28 in orange — so the sum is just the total shaded area. When the cells overflow one whole (0.75 + 0.40), the overflow visibly carries into the next grid: 100 cells make a new whole, mirroring the regrouping step in column addition.

The same picture runs in reverse for subtraction talk-alouds — cover the orange cells and ask what is left — and it sets up the standard algorithm by showing why tenths are added to tenths and hundredths to hundredths.

Classroom worksheets

Two worksheet variants cover both directions of decimal-grid fluency. "Write the number" shades the grids but leaves blank answer lines, so students count cells and record the decimal, fraction, and word form themselves. "Shade it yourself" does the opposite: it prints the decimal and its word form above empty grids for students to shade, which is the better workout for place-value understanding.

Because the grids are deterministic, an answer key is the same settings with the worksheet toggle off — the shaded cells always match the number exactly, down to the last hundredth.

Everything renders in your browser and exports as a crisp SVG or a high-resolution PNG, so grids print sharply on any paper size and drop cleanly into worksheets, anchor charts, and slides.