During third grade, the main focus of teaching time should be on four key areas: (1) building comprehension of multiplication and division, as well as tactics for multiplication and division up to 100; (2) building comprehension of fractions, specifically unit fractions (fractions with a numerator of 1); (3) building comprehension of the patterns in rectangular arrays and area; and (4) describing and examining two-dimensional shapes.
Students gain insight into the concepts of multiplication and division of whole numbers by participating in tasks that focus on equal-sized groups, arrays, and area models. In these scenarios, multiplication involves identifying a mystery product, while division involves determining a mystery factor. Students can understand the connection between multiplication and division by examining different solution methods.
Students start learning about fractions by first focusing on unit fractions. Students can utilize fractions to signify numbers that are equivalent to, smaller than, and larger than one. They address issues by analyzing fractions through visual models and strategies that identify equal numerators or denominators.
Students identify area as a characteristic of two-dimensional areas. Students connect area to multiplication by breaking rectangles down into arrays of squares, and they support using multiplication to find the area of a rectangle.
Students talk about, examine, and contrast characteristics of two-dimensional shapes. Shapes are compared and categorized based on their sides and angles, and then linked to shape definitions. Students connect their fraction work to geometry by representing the area of a portion of a shape as a unit fraction of the entire shape.
