In Grade 3, math instruction focuses on four critical areas:
1. Operations and Algebraic Thinking
2. Numbers and Operations in Base Ten
3. Numbers and Operations Fractions
4. Measurement and Data
5. Geometry
Below is an overview of the skills and strategies that students master in each of these critical areas.
Operations and Algebraic Thinking: Students learn to: (1) represent and solve problems involving multiplication and division; (2) understand the properties of multiplication and division; (3) understand the relationship between multiplication and division; (4) solve problems using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division; (5) multiply and divide within 100; and (6) identify and explain patterns in arithmetic.
Numbers and Operations in Base Ten: Students learn to: (1) relate addition and subtraction; (2) estimate sums and differences; (4) round whole numbers; and (5) use addition and subtraction properties.
Numbers and Operations Fractions: Students learn to: (1) understand fractions as numbers; (2) divide a whole into equal parts; and (3) use a number line to understand fractions less than one and greater than one.
Measurement and Data: Students learn to: (1) Represent and interpret data using and creating picture graphs and bar graphs; (2) solve problems using measurement and estimation of intervals of time, liquid volumes, and masses of objects; (3) recognize and solve for perimeter of plane figures; and (4) distinguish between linear and area measurements.
Geometry: Students learn to: (1) describe quadrilaterals; (2) analyze and compare quadrilaterals; and (3) classify shapes.