Unit 5 is typically an eight-week unit taught in March and April.
Mathematics is the study of patterns and relationships. By making connections among mathematical topics, students learn new concepts and deepen their understanding. In this unit, students make connections among algebra, money, fractions, probability, multiplication, and division to build conceptual understanding and procedural fluency.
The unit begins with an exploration of algebra and money. In Units 1 and 3, students represented addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems symbolically. The expectation in Unit 5 is that students will be able to select the appropriate operation to use in a variety of problem solving contexts. Building on the Hands On Equations lessons practiced throughout Units 3 and 4, students apply knowledge of balance and equality to solve problems involving numeric equations and inequality. In Grade 2, students worked with money through $10.00. In Grade 3, students will use this knowledge to work with larger amounts of money and to solve problems including counting change.
In the next part of the unit, students investigate fractions and probability. In Grade 2, students explored region and set models for fractions. In addition to these two models, Grade 3 students apply knowledge of division to represent fractions and mixed numbers with length models such as a number line. In Grade 3, students use concrete materials and pictures to represent fractions of the same amount and discover how ½ and one whole can be used as benchmark numbers for comparing fractions. This provides the conceptual understanding that is needed for performing basic operations with fractions in Grades 4 and 5. In Unit 5, students explore concepts of fairness and probability and use new vocabulary to describe the likelihood of events. In Grade 4, students will use fractions to quantify likelihood.
In the last part of the unit, students develop algorithms for multi-digit multiplication and division using a variety of strategies. For example, they apply counting strategies with money (5 cents, 10 cents, 25 cents), knowledge of arrays from Unit 2, and basic multiplication/division facts and strategies for breaking apart arrays from Unit 3 to multiply and divide larger numbers. By relating these prior concepts to their new learning, students can develop greater conceptual understanding and procedural fluency with multiplication and division.
Parent Newsletters for Grade 3
Informative documents with fun activities and tips to help your child learn mathematics.
Content map for Grade 3 Unit 5 (PDF)
Find learning activities and games sorted by content strand on our resource page.
| Unit 1 | Unit 2 | Unit 3 | Unit 4 | Unit 5 | Unit 6 |