Third Grade Math Projects: Ideas and Instructions for Parents

How to Do Math Projects at Home

You may not typically associate projects with math class; however, hands-on projects are a great way for your third grader to engage with math. When starting a project at home, try to incorporate your child's talents and interests, which can help motivate him to complete the project. For instance, if your third grader likes to draw, you can integrate art into the math project. Similarly, if your child likes to sing, you might challenge him to write a song to remember the multiplication tables.

When coming up with a project, be sure to use concepts that your child is learning in class. In third grade, this includes multiplication and division. Third graders also are introduced to fractions, and they learn to tell time. The following projects can provide great math practice and allow your child to express himself creatively.

Third Grade Math Project Ideas

Calculating Area

Third graders learn to calculate the area of a rectangle by using the formula area (A) = length (L) x width (W). As a project, you might have your child calculate the area of your house. Using a ruler or yardstick, help your child measure the length and width of all the rooms. Then, add the lengths and widths together to find the total length and width of the house. Finally, multiply the total length times the total width to find your home's area.

Reviewing Multiplication Facts

Multiplication tables are helpful because they can teach your child to visually identify patterns. Draw a chart on a piece of poster board, and let your child fill in the numbers. Your child will get extra practice reviewing the multiplication facts and have fun decorating the poster.

Telling Time

When your child is learning to tell time, have her keep track of everything she does throughout the day. Have her write the starting and ending time for each activity and then figure out how much time she spent doing each thing.

Figuring Out Fractions

Bake a pie with your child, and divide it into equal parts to teach her about fractions. As you remove slices, help your child figure out how much of the pie remains. For instance, when it's a full pie, the fraction would be 8/8. After removing one slice, the representative fraction would be 7/8.