In Grade 3, math instruction focuses on the four critical areas below. Teachers primary instruct using small group rotations to meet individual needs based on formative assessments.
Unit 1 and Unit 3 - Addition and Subtraction
Unit 1 focuses on patterns in addition and subtraction facts, the pattern of adding 10s, measuring, and problem solving.
Unit 3 reviews and extends students’ thinking about place value (rounding), multi-digit addition and subtraction, and multi-step problem solving.
Unit 2 and Unit 5 - Multiplication and Division
Unit 2 introduces multiplication by immersing students in a wide variety of multiplicative situations. It invites students to think of the operation in different ways, students make
use of a variety of models for multiplication, including equal groups, arrays, the number line, and ratio tables. They also apply
the associative and distributive properties to develop efficient, reliable, and generalizable strategies for multiplying.
Unit 5 returns to the study of multiplication, especially as it relates to division. Students again build arrays, but use them to
model and solve division as well as multiplication problems. Story problems play a major role, helping
students to connect their everyday experiences with division to more formal mathematical concepts.
Unit 4 and Unit 7 - Measurement and Fractions
Unit 4 begins with measurement concepts and skills. Students tell time to the minute and solve elapsed time problems. Students also estimate, measure, and compare the masses of different objects as well as work
with volume and solve measurement-related story problems. Unit 4 also introduces students to fractions, using several different
models to build, compare, and investigate the relationships among unit and common fractions.
Unit 7 provides a review of the work students previously had with fractions as parts of a whole and distances along a number line, students
are introduced to linear and area models that allow them to see fractions as parts of a set as well as a parts of a whole. These models
include a ruler, an egg carton, a 12-foot strip of adding machine tape, and a circle graph.
Unit 6 - Geometry
In Unit 6, students develop increasingly precise ways to describe, classify, and make generalizations about two-dimensional
shapes, particularly quadrilaterals.