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What Your Child Should Be Learning: Third-Grade Math
Third-graders become familiar with addition, subtraction, multiplication and division by using them in computation exercises and problem solving.
By GreatSchools.net Staff
In Your Child's Classroom

What math concepts will my third-grader learn?
"Every math concept your child

What to look for when you visit
  • Students working in groups at tables or desks
  • Students reviewing basic math facts and learning new skills, such as multiplication and division
  • Students engaged in problem-solving activities that require them to use their math skills
  • Math skills carried over into other parts of the curriculum, such as writing about math, or making graphs about different forms of transportation.
is introduced to in third grade will form the basis for all future math studies," explains Linda Eisinger, our teacher consultant and Missouri's Teacher of the Year in 2005.

Third-graders make the important move from addition and subtraction to multiplication and division. Your child will get comfortable with the ideas behind multiplication and division using pictures and objects.

Third-graders develop a growing interest in rules and logic. Many have a keen interest in how things are put together. Third-graders tend to be full of enthusiasm but lack patience. They may give up easily on more difficult assignments but work well when an assignment is broken down into smaller, more manageable chunks. They may need help from the teacher on learning how to be organized and how to approach more difficult assignments. They are quite social, and can be quite productive when they work in small groups.

Mastering math operations
Third-graders should become very familiar with all four math operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. They'll use these operations in math computation exercises and in problem solving. "Fact families" help your child think about multiplication and division together. He learns that 3x4=12 and 4x3=12, then 12÷3=4 and 12÷4=3

Eisinger explains: "In third grade the emphasis is on the recall of facts. This helps greatly when trying to introduce new concepts like regrouping and multiplication. Speed in recalling basic facts is what we work on every day in third grade."

Fractions and geometry
Your third-grader will begin to learn about fractions through measurement and weighing. She'll also learn to create geometric patterns with paper and pencil, and she'll learn about angles and perimeter.

Numbers
Third-graders learn to count by 100s up to 1,000 and beyond.

More on GreatSchools.net
They continue to learn about place value (for example, that 879, is eight 100s, seven 10s and nine ones) and to read and write four-digit numbers.

Time, money and graphs
Third-graders become more familiar with telling time and learn to tell time to the minute quickly. They do problems with time, such as "It's 2:45. How much time has passed since 2:15?"

Your third-grader will learn more about handling money. She'll learn about $5, $10 and $20 bills. She'll solve problems requiring her to make change, such as "How much change should Alex get if he gives the clerk a $20 bill and his groceries cost $18.25?"

Third-graders continue their work with graphs and will learn about line graphs and more sophisticated bar graphs.

Controversy over calculators
How much should elementary school students use calculators? The question has been debated by math teachers, university professors and parents. There is general agreement though that they should not be used as a substitute for learning basic arithmetic skills. Talk to your child's teacher about how calculators are used in your classroom. The pros and cons of calculator use are discussed in this Education World article:

Educators Battle Over Calculator Use: Both Sides Claim Casualties

Updated August 2007

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Comments From GreatSchools.net Users
10/19/2007:
"NO calculators. I went through this with my son (now 43) and I see the battle coming up with my 3rd-grader granddaughter. Or I should say, with her teachers. I never fought with my son over this. Rule was simple: No, you will not take a calculator to school. Not in the second grade. Time will come, in high school, after learning and understanding fundamentals, including square and cubic roots, when a calculator and a computer will be the right tools to use in learning the application of basic math concepts."
10/17/2007:
"the use of calculators is similar to the use of computers. when used appropriately, it is a powerful tool that allows students to begin discovering mistakes with his/her own mental mathematics. if a calculator is used inappropriately (for every single problem) it can cause damage. the same goes for a computer. if students just surf the web, it isn't a helpful tool, but if students are forced to research and focus on educational areas, the computer is a powerful tool. no one complains about the use of computers (which are misused much more than calculators may i add.)we say that students need to be familiar with the computer before 7th grade. imaging that a student has never seen or touched a computer before 7th grade. they will be behind. same with calculators. TI has designed different calculators that when used appropriately build student knowledge so that they can used a TI-84 graphing calculator without any problems. If a student doesn't touch a calculator unti! l 7th grade, then he/she will be behind mathematically. All technology can be misused. In the same sense all technology (we begin introducing calculator skills in the first grade appropriately because scientifically based research shows that it helps prepare students for upper level math such as Geometry, Trig, and Calculus)can help our society grow. I bet the person who invented the cell phone probably began using the calculator way before 7th grade....no one complains about that."
10/1/2007:
"have you ever been to the grocery store and the clerk forgot to put in that you gave her a 10.00 and the change due is not on the screen? i (being raised in an anit-calculator family) can usually calculate the change before they FIND their calculator. the concept as WELL as the math skills are equally important."
10/1/2007:
"It is my personal opinion that kids should not being allowed to use calculators 'till more advance grades or more complex operations. Also I will discourage the use of fingers to resolve simple sums. At least, as a first choice."
09/24/2007:
"Calculators should NOT be used in elementary school, period. Kids need to learn the basics BEFORE technology. Technology can fail and without the basics, so will kids if and when technology does fail. Did you ever go into a grocery store and watch a cashier under age 25 or so try to calculate the proper change without the use of the register? They can't do it and that is a travesty for our young."
09/20/2007:
"I know that I have email you before, but I have to say it again, THANK YOU!!!! Your website has helped me so much and given me so much insight on what my child needs to know and what he should be learning. I was totally lost before. I was looking and not finding the answers to my questions. Thanks again. From a grateful Mom"
09/18/2007:
"Planes have auto-pilot too, so why teach pilots to fly? Just because a technology exists doesn't mean learning it the 'hard way' is senseless. Until we embed calculators in kids' wrists they will need basic math skills for everyday reasoning. A calculator doesn't teach reasoning. Kids seem to have 5+ hours a day to watch TV yet some parents want to spare them the 'pain' of learning the basics?? I'm glad these were not my parents!!"
05/2/2007:
"It's not right to deny children the means of technology. The concept is understood even if the equation is calculated for them. We live in a different generation why is it wrong? Why was the last generation so right? There are so many learning curves we are now aware of. It can help a child feel comforted to know that they can keep up with the rest of the class,despite their learning disabilities. Gives self-esteem, encourages participation,and brings everyone together in the same level of knowledge with no one left behind. IT IS NOT LIKE THERE WILL EVER BE A TIME IN LIFE THEY WONT HAVE ACCESS TO ONE. Sincerely Heather Leblanc NL Canada."
11/21/2006:
"no calculators until 7th grade PERIOD!!!!! Kids are learning the fundementals of basic math. How can they do that if a calc is magically telling them the answers. Learning to use a calculator is important, but the kids should learn how to do their math forward and backward without a calculator. This means they problem solve and check their answers on their own and if it doesn't all add up then, they should use the calculator in each step to see where they made there mistake. Teacher's have so little time to spend on one part of the cirriculum that they often move right onto the next thing before a child grasps the previously (untaught) items. We are a world becoming full of adults illiterate in math and struggling with communication because of computers."
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