Grade 3
Welcome to the Grade 3 Family Focus Page
Highlighted on this page:
Developing Computational Fluency for Grade 3 Brochure - this will show you the strategies we teach in school for adding and subtracting.
Quarter links to bring you to the I Can Statements for each units in that quarter. Click the link for each Quarter listed below.
Connecting Math with 3rd Graders at home and around town
Grade 3 Developing Computational Fluency LNES.pdfComputational Fluency for Grade 3
Click the image to the left to open a PDF that shows you the Computational Fluency strategies that we use to solve addition and subtraction problems (there are two pages, so be sure to scroll down).
Connecting Math with 3rd Graders
At Home:
Invite your child to help you in the kitchen. Measuring out ingredients is a great way to talk about fractions, including equivalent fractions and comparing fractions. One idea is to make popcorn for the family. Begin by having him/her put a piece of masking tape from top to bottom on one side of the large container. Let your child pour the measured popcorn into the clear container. Have her/him continue to pour the same amount into the container until it is full. As your child pours each equal amount, mark the level on the container by drawing a line on the tape. Then write the fraction, corresponding to the unit of measure on the line. After the container is full, have your child count up the total number of cup increments (1/2, 1/3 or 1/4) and record.
As you measure out the popcorn to pop, ask your child
· How many 1/2 cups equal a cup? Two cups?
· How many 1/4 cups equal 1/2 cup? A whole cup?
· Have fun with your child while solving problems!
On the Go:
Before starting on a car trip, estimate the distance of the trip. When you reach your destination, have your child write down the new mileage on your odometer. Show him/her how to figure the actual number of miles you traveled by subtracting the mileage when you left home from the new number. Then have him/her compare the actual mileage to the estimated mileage.
On the highway, ask your child to read road signs and look for signs that show the speed limits. Help him/her to practice his/her mental math skills by asking questions such as, "The speed limit is 65 miles per hour. How far will we go in one hour? two hours?
Check the time, before you leave. Then when you arrive, check the time again. Find the time that has passed, or elapsed time together.
At The Grocery Store:
In the produce section of the store, explain to your child that what you pay for fruit and vegetables is based, in large part, on the quantity you buy and what it weighs—that produce is usually sold for a certain amount per pound. Tell him/ her that pounds are divided into smaller parts called ounces, and it takes 16 ounces to make one pound. Show your child the scale that is used to weigh produce, and let him/her weigh different amounts or determine how much of an item it will take to make a pound.
As you wait in a grocery checkout lane, use the time to have your child estimate what the total cost of your groceries will be. Tell him that one easy way to estimate a total is to round off numbers. That is, if an item cost 98 cents, round it off to $1. Explain that the answer he gets won't be the exact cost, but it will be about that. Tell him/her that the word about shows that the amount you say is just an estimate.
Volume—Discuss the volume of the containers that hold your food. Compare units. What holds more a cup or a gallon?