Math Help for 3rd Graders
Your 8 or 9-year-old child starting 3rd-grade math is likely eager to take on challenges as long as they are fun and engaging. In 3rd-grade math, they’ll learn a number of new skills as they explore new areas of mathematics. They’ll dive into multiplication and division as well as explore geometrical shapes, area and volume, and fractions. They’ll benefit from teacher support, engaging activities, and interactive learning. As always, they will also need your support and encouragement.
3rd-Grade Math Common Core Curriculum
The 3rd-grade math curriculum is critical for building a strong math foundation. In 3rd grade, students work on key mathematics skills, such as: dividing and multiplying within 100, fractions, areas, perimeters, and volumes, and learning the properties of operations.
How to Help 3rd Graders with Math
As a parent of a 3rd-grade math student, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the math curriculum. Math education has changed over the years, so staying up to speed with the most recent updates is helpful. Try some puzzles or games to get them thinking that solving problems can be fun! Math software, like Prodigy, can provide an interactive platform where your child can practice mastering the math skills they’re learning in class. A tutor can also be considered for one-on-one instruction that is tailored to the math skills your child needs help with. It’s all about helping your child as they build mastery in the concepts they’re being taught at school.
Helping with 3rd-Grade Math Homework
Since 3rd-grade math introduces more complex concepts, sometimes students might feel overwhelmed and unsure of themselves. Helping them with this means identifying areas where they need support while building their confidence and encouraging a positive mindset. Make homework time more engaging by using techniques teachers often use to make math fun. Show how math is everywhere in the real world and encourage them to try and solve relevant problems like preparing a simple budget for household expenses.
Helping children with their 3rd-grade math homework does take time and energy, but the key is to develop a routine. Once you’ve established a routine that works for both you and your child, setting aside 20 or 30 minutes for math homework several times a week, or every school day if preferred, can be highly effective.
Math Software for the 3rd Grade
When choosing a math learning platform to help your child, the first question to ask is whether it aligns with your state or local standards to ensure it covers the curriculum they’re learning in class. Next, consider how flexible the platform is. Every child learns math differently and at their own pace. Does the platform adapt to their individual needs?
Some of the options available today are: Khan Academy, DreamBox, Math Playground, and Kodomath. These platforms range from traditional drill-based approaches to more immersive options that use game-based learning elements. Prodigy belongs to the second group, offering an immersive online game environment to engage learners who answer math questions to progress in the game. This unique approach helps make learning fun while reinforcing essential math skills.
Math Games for the 3rd Grade
While math software can really help your child, offline games are also useful in providing hands-on, fun experiences that will help your 3rd grader learn to enjoy math. For example, with some printouts and simple objects, you can create games that help them understand multiplication, fractions, or even geometry. Prodigy Math has some wonderfully practical printables you can download, print, and use with your kids!
Whether it’s practicing fluency, estimating division solutions with objects, using play money to solve real-world problems, or using a card game to practice multiplication, there are lots of good ideas for gamifying math. And don’t forget to check out puzzles which can be a wonderfully fun way to learn logic and math!
Hiring a Math Tutor for Your 3rd Grader
All you need is a device and an internet connection to play and practice your skills on any math software platform. With a math tutor, however, you need to schedule classes and decide whether to work with them in-person or online. The benefit is, with an experienced tutor like a former math teacher, you can get a personalized service targeted to what your child needs that can boost their ability and confidence.
Online tutoring, on the other hand, is more flexible and convenient and can be cost-saving as well. With tutors charging from around $25 to over $100 per hour, online services can offer less expensive rates.
Prodigy Math
In surveys conducted in 2020, students who previously expressed a low enjoyment of math responded on average with a notable increase in enjoyment after using Prodigy Math’s online game. Prodigy Math is designed to be engaging and fun to play, integrating math questions into exciting in-game challenges. Many students who once felt frustrated with math developed a more positive attitude after playing!
Not only that but Prodigy’s monthly rates for memberships can be less than the rates many tutors might charge per hour. It’s affordable, not to mention there’s a free option as well. It’s built to be fun to play, and it just might change your child’s view of math.
