Third Grade Math: Lesson Plans with Practice Exercises

Math Lesson Plans for Your Third Grader

Although they can vary from school to school and district to district, many third grade math curriculums are based on the Common Core State Standards. This is to ensure that all third graders are learning at a similar pace and to prepare kids for standardized tests. Multiplication, division and measurements are usually covered in the third grade.

When you're helping your child with math, the Internet can help quite a bit. A number of websites offer free lesson plans and practice exercises designed, tested and submitted by teachers. You can also use one of the following lesson plans to teach third grader at home.

Teaching Multiplication

When you introduce multiplication to your child, you can show him or her how multiplication involves the grouping of numbers. Hands-on, visual activities are often very effective at helping kids understand multiplication.

Give your child 12 chocolate chips. Ask him or her to divide them into equal groupings. Challenge your child to come up with as many combinations as possible. After providing your child with a few minutes to experiment, write down the possible groupings with your child and reveal how to write the groupings as multiplication problems.

Multiplication and Division with Arrays

Arrays can be helpful for solving multiplication and division problems. An array is a collection of dots grouped into rows and columns.

To create an array that represents the problem 4 x 6, you could draw 4 rows with 6 dots in each row. Your child can then count the dots to find the total (24). Next, show your child that 6 groups of 4 and 4 groups of 6 both result in the same number. Once your child understands arrays, have him or her make arrays for several different problems.

Teaching Measurement

Send your child on a measurement scavenger hunt. Write 10 different lengths on a worksheet and set him or her loose in a setting like a park to look for items that are those lengths. Of course, your child will need a ruler or another measuring tool for this activity.

Alternatively, pair siblings up and ask them to measure different body parts on one another. Give your kids a list of body parts to measure and make it a fun game. If you're working with just one child, he or she can measure him or herself and you. Anything can be measured: fingers, hair, lips, arms and even kneecaps. You can challenge your child to draw a large picture of him or herself on butcher paper using accurate measurements.