New York State Math Curriculum for 3rd Grade

A Glimpse at New York's 3rd Grade Math Curriculum

Number and Operations in Base Ten

Within this mathematical focus area, your 3rd grader should use his or her prior knowledge of place value to round a whole number to the nearest 10 or 100. Your child will also learn to fluently add and subtract within 1,000, as well as to multiply a 1-digit whole number by a multiple of 10..

Operations and Algebraic Thinking

At the 3rd grade level, your student will be able to multiply and divide within 100 in simple computations and word problems. Your child will learn how to solve 2-step word problems that contain a variable and require him or her to use addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. He or she must also be able to determine an unknown number in a multiplication or division problem. For instance, in the problem 5 x ? = 40, your child should be able to determine that the missing number is 8. Lastly, be sure your 3rd grade student understands how to use the associative, distributive and commutative properties of multiplication.

Geometry

Your child will learn to recognize rhombuses, squares and rectangles as examples of quadrilaterals. At this grade level, it's important that your student understands that shapes in different categories can share attributes. Partitioning a shape into parts with equal areas and then expressing this division with a fraction is another important skill for 3rd graders.

Number and Operations - Fractions

In 3rd grade math, your child should understand that a fraction is formed when a whole is divided into equal pieces. After creating fractions, your student will be able to accurately represent the fractions on a number line. Your child is able should recognize and generate equivalent fractions and express a whole number as a fraction. Lastly, your 3rd grader must know how to compare two fractional amounts that have the same numerator or same denominator.

Measurement and Data

Your 3rd grader should be able to find the area of a rectangle and the perimeter of polygons. You will also want to ensure that your child can use a ruler to obtain the length of an item and to represent a given set of data by drawing a graph. Your student will learn how to tell time to the nearest minute and to solve real-world problems that require him or her to add or subtract time intervals. At this grade level, your child should know how to solve 1-step word problems that involve measuring and estimating the mass of objects and the volume of liquids.