Maths

Spring Term Maths Objectives

Multiplication and Division

• Recall and use multiplication and division facts for the 3, 4 and 8 multiplication tables
• Write and calculate mathematical statements for multiplication and division using the multiplication tables that they know, including for two-digit numbers times one-digit numbers, using mental and progressing to formal written methods
• Solve problems, including missing number problems, involving multiplication and division, including positive integer scaling problems and correspondence problems in which n objects are connected to m objects.

Measurement - Money

• Add and subtract amounts of money to give change, using both £ and p in practical contexts

Statistics

• Interpret and present data using bar charts, pictograms and tables
• Solve one-step and two-step questions using information presented in scaled bar charts and pictograms and tables.

Measurement - Length and Perimeter

• Measure, compare, add and subtract: lengths (m/cm/mm); mass (kg/g); volume/capacity (l/ml)
• Measure the perimeter of simple 2-D shapes

Fractions

Count up and down in tenths; recognise that tenths arise from dividing an object into 10 equal parts and in dividing one-digit numbers or quantities by 10

• Recognise, find and write fractions of a discrete set of objects: unit fractions and non-unit fractions with small denominators
• Recognise and use fractions as numbers: unit fractions and non-unit fractions with small denominators
• Recognise and show, using diagrams, equivalent fractions with small denominators
• Add and subtract fractions with the same denominator within one whole
• Compare and order unit fractions, and fractions with the same denominators
• Solve problems that involve all of the above.

Number & place value in Year 3 (age 7–8)

In Year 3, your child will start to work with bigger numbers, all the way up to 1000. They will count in multiples of 4, 8, 50, and 100, and will use their understanding of place value to solve increasingly tricky number problems.

The key words for this section are number and place value.

What your child will learn

Take a look at the National Curriculum expectations for number and place value in Year 3 (ages 7–8):

Count in 4s, 8s, and 50s from 0, and in 10s and 100s from any number

Recognise the place value of three-digit numbers

Compare and order numbers up to 1000

Identify, represent, and estimate numbers shown in different ways

Read and write numbers up to 1000

Solve number problems and practical problems

How to help at home

There are lots of ways you can help your child to understand number and place value. Here are just a few ideas:

1. Represent numbers creatively

Showing numbers in interesting ways really helps your child to understand number and place value. You could try using symbols to represent numbers with your child. For example:

143 could be represented by Δ IIII ΟΟΟ, where Δ represents 100, I represents 10, and Ο represents 1.

See if your child come up with their own pictures to represent hundreds, tens, and ones. Then, see if you can figure out what numbers they are writing using their new system. You could then use their system yourself, and see if they can work out which numbers you have written down.

Place value charts can also be a great way to help your child represent numbers. These charts will help your child to read, write, and compare numbers, as well as to understand zero as a placeholder. Here is a simple example:

2. Compare and order numbers

When comparing numbers up to 1000, your child should look at the digit with the largest value first. For example, if your child is comparing the numbers 765 and 276, they would first need to look at the digit with the largest value, i.e. the hundreds digit:

276 has 2 hundreds, and 765 has 7 hundreds, so 276 is less than 765.

However, if we compare the numbers 765 and 754, they both have the same number of hundreds. Therefore, we now need to look at the tens digit:

765 has 6 tens, and 754 only has 5 tens, so 765 is more than 754.

Try this game to practise comparing numbers. Write twenty two- and three-digit numbers and the ‘>’ and ‘<’ symbols on separate pieces of paper. Deal your child two numbers, face down. Ask them to turn over the pieces of paper and to use the ‘>’ and ‘<’ symbols to show which number is bigger or smaller.

Why not try again with a timer? How many pairs can they order correctly in 30 seconds?

3. Practise counting

Your child should now use the word multiples to describe counting up in steps from zero, securing their understanding of multiplication.

They will be expected to count in multiples of 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 50, and 100. You could help your child practise by taking it in turns to say the multiples of a number. For example:

You: 4

Your child: 8

You: 12

… and so on.

Set a timer and see what number you can get to before a minute is up! Be sure to note any interesting patterns, like how multiples of five always end in a 5 or a 0.

4. Learn multiplication facts

In Year 3, it’s important that your child is able to recall multiplication facts. They will be likely to focus on the 3, 4, and 8 times tables. They will already be familiar with the 2, 5, and 10 times tables, but they will still practise them.

Games such as bingo, snap, and pairs can be adapted to focus on times tables. They make great short, quick-fire games that can be fitted in at any time of the day. For example, you could make some cards with times tables on half and their answers on the other half to play snap with when you are out and about.