What is in each PDF
Every worksheet is a two-page PDF that prints in black and white on US Letter paper. Page 1 has 8 to 12 problems on one skill, easier ones first, with room for a name and date. Page 2 is the answer key. Free to print, no sign-up.
What 3rd grade math covers
Multiplication and division within 100 sit at the center of 3rd grade. Children first see multiplication as equal groups, then work toward knowing the facts from memory, and they learn that division is the same fact turned around. Finding the missing factor in 6 × ? = 42 ties the two together, and multiplying by tens, as in 7 × 50, shows how place value helps.
Fractions are the other big new idea. Children name the fraction shown in a picture, place fractions on a number line, and compare fractions that share a numerator or denominator. The number line matters: it shows that a fraction is a number with a place of its own, not only a slice of pizza.
Measurement gets more abstract as well. Area counts the squares that cover a rectangle, while perimeter measures the distance around it, and the two are easy to confuse. Children also tell time to the minute, work out elapsed time, round to the nearest 10 or 100, and add and subtract fluently within 1,000.
Using these worksheets at home
- Do a short facts sheet a few times a week rather than one long sitting. Quick, regular practice is what moves the facts from counting into memory.
- Ask your child to draw the problem on area and perimeter sheets. A sketch of the rectangle with its sides labeled heads off most mix-ups.
- For fractions, fold strips of paper into halves, fourths and eighths, then line them up to see which pieces are bigger.
- If multiplying goes well, try the division sheet straight after, and point out that each division fact is a multiplication fact in reverse.
Where children get stuck
- Thinking a bigger denominator means a bigger fraction. One eighth looks larger than one fourth to a child who sees the 8. Cut the same paper strip both ways and compare.
- Mixing up area and perimeter. Tie each one to a picture: area is the carpet that covers the floor, and perimeter is the fence that goes around the yard.
- Elapsed time across the hour. Going from 4:33 to 4:58 is fine, but crossing into 5:00 trips children up. Have them hop to the next hour first and then add what is left.
- The harder facts. The sevens, eights and nines tend to hold out longest, so spend more time there and do not re-drill the fives and tens.