What New York 3rd graders
learn this year

Third grade is the year multiplication arrives, and the year a New York child sits a state test for the first time. A child who is unsure about equal groups in October is guessing at division by February, and nobody notices until the spring.

Fall: September to November

• Math: Understand multiplication as equal groups; Understand division as sharing or grouping; Solve multiplication and division word problems; Use properties to multiply and divide and 3 more
• Science: Balanced and unbalanced forces; Patterns in motion; Magnetic and electric forces; Solving a problem with magnets
• Social studies: Geographic regions and map tools; Locating world communities

Winter: December to February

• Math: Multiply and divide within 100 quickly and accurately; Round to the nearest 10 or 100; Add and subtract within 1,000; Understand and write four-digit numbers and 3 more
• Science: Weather data and seasons; How weather connects to the water cycle; Climates around the world; Reducing the impact of weather hazards
• Social studies: Why people settle where they do; Each community's history, heroes and traditions; Cultural similarities and differences

Early spring: March and April

• Math: Find and explain number patterns; Solve two-step word problems; Understand fractions as parts of a whole; Split shapes into equal parts and name the fraction and 3 more
• Science: Life cycles of plants and animals; Traits inherited from parents; How the environment affects traits; How differences help individuals survive
• Social studies: How communities exchange ideas; Governments around the world; Human rights and standing up to unfairness

Late spring: May and June

• Math: Measure area by counting square units; Find area by multiplying and adding; Solve perimeter problems; Compare rectangles with the same perimeter or the same area and 3 more
• Science: How living in groups helps animals survive; Why some organisms survive better in a habitat; Solutions when a habitat changes; What fossils tell us about the past
• Social studies: How communities meet needs and wants; What communities produce and trade

The four subjects in 3rd grade

Math. Multiplication and division come first, then rounding and adding within 1,000, then fractions as numbers on a line, and area last.

English. Chapter books and short informational texts, where every answer has to be found back in the words on the page.

Science. Pushes and pulls, magnets, weather and climate, then life cycles, inherited traits and how animals survive in a habitat.

Social studies. Communities around the world: maps, how places are settled, cultures, governments and trade.

Where 3rd graders slip

Watch the multiplication facts. A third grader who still counts by ones to find 6 x 7 will slow down on every fraction and area question that follows.

Common questions

Is third grade too early for weekly practice?

Each session is about ten questions, and the quick check at the start of a quarter tells you whether practice is needed at all. A child who is on track gets a short session and a parent who can stop worrying.

Does this prepare my child for the grade 3 State Test?

It practices the same New York standards the test is built from, a quarter at a time. It does not predict a State Test level; our full-length State Test practice exams are separate.