3rd Grade Number Activities
The tables below provide examples of 3rd Grade Number Activities aligned with the Common Core State Standards. These activities are designed to elicit a range of responses and provide opportunities for students to communicate their reasoning and mathematical thinking. All 3rd Grade Number Activities are suitable for use in Math Centers, small group or whole class settings. Instructions for each task are typed in large print and written in child-friendly language to enable students to work on activities independently after a brief introduction to the task. All files for the 3rd Grade Number Activities listed are in PDF format and can be accessed using Adobe Reader.
3rd Grade Number Activities
| OPERATIONS AND ALGEBRAIC THINKING | Represent and solve problems involving multiplication and division.
3.OA1 Interpret products of whole numbers, e.g. interpret 5 x 7 as the total number of objects in 5 groups of 7 objects each. For example, describe a context in which a total number of objects can be expressed as 5 x 7.
Possible Activities:
Array Picture Cards
3.OA2 Interpret whole-number quotients of whole numbers, e.g. interpret 56÷8 as the number of objects in each share when 56 objects are partitioned equally into 8 shares, or as a number of shares when 56 objects are partitioned into equal shares of 8 objects each. For example, describe a context in which a number of shares or a number of groups can be expressed as 56 ÷ 8.
3.OA3 Use multiplication and division within 100 to solve word problems in situations involving equal groups, arrays, and measurement quantities, e.g. by using drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.
Possible Activities:
Building Arrays
Number Story Arrays (Set 1)
Number Story Arrays (Set 2)
Multiplication Word Problems
Equal Rows in a Marching Band
Sharing Marbles Equally
Possible Read Alouds:(see task cards in right hand column)
- 100 Hungry Ants
- Six Dinner Sid
- Amanda Beans' Amazing Dream
- The Doorbell Rang
- Each Orange had Eight Slices (Class book template)
3.OA4 Determine the unknown whole number in a multiplication or division equation relating three whole numbers. For example, determine the unknown number that makes the equation true in each of the equations 8 x?=48, 5 = ?÷3, 6x6 =?
Missing Numbers (Multiplication)
What is the Missing Number? (Division)
Understand properties of multiplication and the relationship between multiplication and division
3.OA5 Apply properties of operations as strategies to multiply and divide. Examples: If 6x4=24 is known then 4x6=24 is also known (Commutative property of multiplication.) 3x5x2 can be found by 3x5=15, then 15x2=30 (Associative property of multiplication)Knowing that 8x5=40 and 8x2=16, one can find 8x7 as 8 x (5+2) = (8x5) + (8x2) = 40 +16 =56 (Distributive property)
3.OA6 Understand division as an unknown-factor problem. For example, find 32 ÷ 8 by finding the number that makes 32 when multiplied by 8.
Division as Unknown Factor Problems
Multiplication/Division Number Stories
Multiply and divide within 100
3.OA7 Fluently multiply and divide within 100, using strategies such as the relationship between multiplication and division (e.g., knowing that 8x5=40, one knows 40÷5=8) or properties of operations. By the end of Grade 3, know from memory all products of two one-digit numbers.
Possible Activities:
Division Squares
Division Spin (divide by 2)
Division Spin (divide by 10)
I Have ... Who Has?
I Have ... Who Has? (x2 and x10)
I Have ... Who Has? (x2 and x5)
I Have ... Who Has? (x3 and x5)
* See the Math Games page for information on how to use 'I Have ..Who Has?' games as a whole class warm-up and for more examples of this game.
Multiples Game
Multiplication Four in a Row (3,4,5,6)
Multiplication Number Wheel
Multiplication Bump (x2)
Multiplication Bump (x10)
Multiplication Bump (x100)
Multiplication Challenge
The Product is ...
The Answer is ...
Solve problems involving the four operations, and identify and explain patterns in arithmetic
3.OA8 Solve two-step word problems using the four operations. Represent these problems using equations with a letter standing for the unknown quantity. Assess the reasonableness of answers using mental computation and estimations strategies including rounding.
Possible Activities:
Two-Step Word Problems Set 1
Two-Step Word Problems Set 2
3.OA9 Identify arithmetic patterns (including patterns in the addition table or multiplication table), and explain them using properties of operations. For example, observe that 4 times a number is always even, and explain why 4 times a number can be decomposed into two equal addends.
Possible Activities:
Odd and Even Sums
Odd and Even Products
Roll a Rule
Using Number Patterns to Describe Multiples
Increasing and Decreasing Number Patterns
Two Step Number Patterns
Patterns in the Addition Table
Patterns in the Multiplication Table
Drawing Multiplication Patterns
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3rd Grade Number Activities| NUMBER AND OPERATIONS IN BASE TEN | Use place value understanding and properties of operations to perform multi-digit arithmetic
3.NBT1 Use place value understanding to round whole numbers to the nearest 10 or 100.
Possible Activities:
Round Up or Down?
Round to the Nearest Ten
Round to the Nearest 100
3.NBT2 Fluently add and subtract within 1000 using strategies and algorithms based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction.
Possible Activities:
3 Digit Addition Split
Doubling to 1000
Difference Add
3.NBT3 Multiply one-digit whole numbers by multiples of 10 in the range 10-90 (e.g., 9x80, 5x60) using strategies based on place value and properties of operations.
Multiples of Ten Multiply
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3rd Grade Number Activities
| NUMBER AND OPERATIONS - FRACTIONS | Develop understanding of fractions as numbers
3.NF1Understand a fraction 1/b as a quantity formed by 1 part when a whole is portioned into b equal parts: understand a fraction a/b as the quantity formed by a parts of size 1/b.
Possible Activities:
Fraction Barrier Game
Fraction Barrier Game Grid
Exploring Fraction Kits
Equal Parts on the Geoboard
Geoboard Fourths
Congruent Eighths
Fractions with Color Tiles
Find One Half of a Group
Finding Fractions of a Group
Fraction Posters
Suggested Read Alouds:
Ed Emberley's Picture Pie
Task Card
Full House: An Invitation to Fractions
3.NF2 Understand a fraction as a number on the number line; represent fractions on a number line diagram.
a. Represent a fraction 1/b on a number line diagram by defining the interval from 0 to 1 as the whole and portioning it into b equal parts. Recognize that each part has size 1/b and that the endpoint of the part based at 0 locates the number 1/b on the number line.
Fraction Number Lines
Measuring to the Nearest Half Inch
Measuring to the Nearest Quarter Inch
b. Represent a fraction a/b on a number line diagram by marking off a lengths 1/b from 0. Recognize that the resulting interval has size a/b and that its endpoint locates the number a/b on the number line.
3.NF3 Explain equivalence of fractions in special cases, and compare fractions by reasoning about their size.
a. Understand two fractions as equivalent (equal) if they are the same size, or the same point on a number line.
Possible Activities:
Pizza for Dinner *new!
Build a Hexagon
b. Recognize and generate simple equivalent fractions e.g.., ½ = 2/4, 4/6=2/3) Explain why the fractions are equivalent, by using a visual model.
Possible Activities:
Creating Equivalent Fractions
c. Express whole numbers as fractions, and recognize fractions that are equivalent to whole numbers. Examples: Express 3 in the form 3=3/1; recognize that 6/1 = 6; locate 4/4 and 1 at the same point of a number line diagram
d. Compare two fractions with the same numerator or the same denominator by reasoning about their size. Recognize that comparisons are valid only when the two fractions refer to the same whole. Record the results of comparisons with the symbols >, =, or < and justify the conclusions, e.g., by using a visual fraction model.
Who Ate More? *new!
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