Unit 1- Understanding Equal Groups
During this unit, students develop an understanding that we use multiplication to combine a number of equal groups and that we use division to split a quantity into equal groups. By the end of Grade 3, it is expected that students will be fluent with multiplication combinations up to 10 × 10. This unit is the first of three units in Grade 3 that focus on multiplication and division. Later this year, students will solve multiplication and division problems with larger numbers.
Activities to Try at Home
Things That Come in Groups In math class, your child has been investigating things that come in equal groups. Some examples are shown below.
Eggs come in a carton of 12.
Juice boxes come in packages of 3.
Spiders have 8 legs.
Cars have 4 tires.
Your family may continue to keep track of what kinds of things come in groups and how many come in a group. Are there some numbers for which many examples exist? Are there some that are very hard to find?
Skip Counting One way that your child has explored multiplication is by skip counting. You can continue to build on this work by asking questions such as the following:
What number would we land on if we counted by 3s (3, 6, 9, and so on) and everyone in our family said one number?
What would happen if we counted by 3s and everyone had two turns?
How many people would have to count by 3s to reach 27? You can count off by 3s to check .
Multiplication and Division Problems in Everyday Situations Your child has also been working on understanding multiplication and division situations. Encourage your child to think about situations that involve equal groups as opportunities arise.
How many legs are on the 7 pigeons we saw in the park?
How many toes are under the table while we eat dinner?
If we share this batch of cookies equally, how many cookies will each person in our family get?
Five pencils cost $1.00. How many pencils can we buy with $4.00?