Grade 3 Math: how to help at home
What your child learns in Grade 3 math in the Saskatchewan Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- Number (N3.1–N3.4): Demonstrate understanding of whole numbers to 1000. Demonstrate understanding of addition of whole numbers with answers to 1000 and their corresponding subtractions… Demonstrate understanding of multiplication to 5 x 5 and the corresponding division statements. (and 1 more outcome)
- Patterns and Relations (P3.1–P3.2): Demonstrate understanding of increasing and decreasing patterns. Demonstrate understanding of equality by solving one-step addition and subtraction equations involving symbols…
- Shape and Space (SS3.1–SS3.5): Demonstrate understanding of the passage of time. Demonstrate understanding of measuring mass in g and kg. Demonstrate understanding of linear measurement (cm and m). (and 2 more outcomes)
- Statistics and Probability (SP3.1): Demonstrate understanding of first-hand data using tally marks, charts, lists, bar graphs, and line plots…
Easy ways to practise math at home
- Practise math facts in short bursts, such as five minutes while dinner cooks.
- Let your child handle small cash purchases, working out the change in multiples of 5¢.
- Cook together and double or halve a recipe.
- Ask “How do you know?” after an answer, even when it is right.
What each unit covers
Numbers to 1000
Reading, building, comparing and ordering numbers to 1000 as hundreds, tens and ones, including tricky zeros and regrouping (12 tens is 1 hundred and 2 tens).
Add & Subtract
Adding and subtracting 2- and 3-digit numbers by place value, number-line jumps and counting up, plus estimating by rounding to the nearest hundred.
Multiplication
Understanding multiplication as equal groups, arrays, repeated addition and skip counting. Easier sets use 2s, 5s and 10s; stretch sets go beyond 5 × 5.
Division
Understanding division as sharing fairly and as making equal groups, and using multiplication facts to divide (3 × 4 = 12, so 12 ÷ 3 = 4).
Fractions
Naming fractions of a shape, a set and a number line, knowing what the top and bottom numbers mean, and comparing fractions by the size of their parts.
Patterns & Equations
Extending increasing and decreasing patterns, describing pattern rules in words and tables, and solving one-step equations like ☐ + 8 = 23.
Time
Telling time on an analog clock, working out start and end times, and knowing how seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years relate.
Measuring
Measuring with centimetres and metres, grams and kilograms, millilitres and litres: choosing sensible units, estimating, comparing and solving measurement problems.
3D Objects
Naming 3D objects, counting their faces, edges and vertices, and thinking about how they are built from flat faces or from straws and clay.
Graphs & Chance
Reading pictographs and bar graphs where one symbol can stand for one vote or several, and describing how likely outcomes are with spinners, marbles and number cubes.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Beginning
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practising the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Meeting is the goal for every outcome. Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Exemplary
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the Saskatchewan report card guide.
Common questions
How can I help my Grade 3 child with math?
Practise math facts in short bursts, such as five minutes while dinner cooks. Let your child handle small cash purchases, working out the change in multiples of 5¢. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
What does my child learn in Grade 3 math in Saskatchewan?
The Saskatchewan Curriculum Grade 3 math units include numbers to 1000, add & subtract, multiplication, division, fractions, patterns & equations.
Free printable Grade 3 math practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.