This page provides sample 3rd Grade Number tasks and games from our 3rd Grade Math Centers eBook. Try out the samples listed in blue under each Common Core State Standard or download the eBook and have all the 3rd Grade Number, Geometry, Measurement and Data Centers you’ll need for the entire school year in one convenient digital file. With over 150 easy-prep, engaging centers this resource will simplify your math lesson planning and make hands-on math instruction an integral part of your classroom.
Teaching in a state that is implementing their own specific math standards? Download our 3rd Grade Correlations document for cross-referenced tables outlining the alignment of each state's standards with the CCSS-M, as well as the page numbers in our 3rd Grade Math Centers eBook related to each standard.
3.OA.A.1 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.
Relate Addition and Multiplication
Equal Groups
3.OA.A.2 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.
Identify the Unknown
3.OA.A.4 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: Division
3.OA.B.5 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, or by 5x2=10, then 3x10=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).
Turn Your Array
Math Literature Link: Each Orange Had 8 Slices
3.OA.B.6 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 an Unknown Factor (x5 & x10)
3.OA.C.7 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.
Fill the Grid
Multiply It
Division Bump (divisors 2 - 5)
Division Squares (divisors 3 & 6)
3.OA.D.8 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 estimation strategies including rounding.
Word Problems: Two-Step (Set 2)
3.OA.D.9 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.
Roll a Rule (v. 1)
Odd and Even Sums
Odd and Even Products
Patterns in the Addition Table
3.NBT.A.1 Use place value understanding to round whole numbers to the nearest 10 or 100.
Round to the Nearest Hundred
Estimating Sums (v. 1)
Estimating Differences (v. 1)
3.NBT.A.2 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.
Word Problems: Addition and Subtraction within 1,000
Literature Link: 365 Penguins
Close to Zero (3-Digit)
3.NF.A.1 Understand a fraction 1/b as a quantity formed by 1 part when a whole is partitioned into b equal parts: understand a fraction a/b as the quantity formed by a parts of size 1/b.
Making Fraction Strips (v. 1)
My Fraction Bar Riddle
Literature Link: Gator Pie (v. 1-2)
3.NF.A.3 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.
Pizza for Dinner
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.
Equivalent Fractions on a Geoboard