The following are highlights of student learning in Grade 3. They are provided to give teachers
and parents a quick overview of the mathematical knowledge and skills that students are
expected to acquire in each strand in this grade. The expectations on the pages that follow
outline the required knowledge and skills in detail and provide information about the ways in
which students are expected to demonstrate their learning, how deeply they will explore concepts
and at what level of complexity they will perform procedures, and the mathematical
processes they will learn and apply throughout the grade.
Number Sense and Numeration: representing and ordering numbers to 1000; representing
money amounts to $10; decomposing and composing three-digit numbers; investigating fractions
of a set; counting by 1’s, 2’s, 5’s, 10’s, 25’s, and 100’s; adding and subtracting three-digit
numbers in a variety of ways; relating one-digit multiplication, and division by one-digit divisors,
to real-life situations
Measurement: measuring distance using kilometres; telling time to the nearest 5 minutes;
identifying temperature benchmarks; measuring perimeter using standard units; measuring
mass in kilograms and capacity in litres; measuring area using grid paper; comparing the
length, mass, and capacity of objects using standard units; relating minutes to hours, hours
to days, days to weeks, and weeks to years
Geometry and Spatial Sense: using a reference tool to identify right angles and to compare
angles with a right angle; classifying two-dimensional shapes by geometric properties (number
of sides and angles); classifying three-dimensional figures by geometric properties (number of
faces, edges, and vertices); relating different types of quadrilaterals; naming prisms and pyramids;
identifying congruent shapes; describing movement on a grid map; recognizing transformations
Patterning and Algebra: creating and extending growing and shrinking patterns; representing
geometric patterns with a number sequence, a number line, and a bar graph; determining the
missing numbers in equations involving addition and subtraction of one- and two-digit numbers;
investigating the properties of zero and one in multiplication
Data Management and Probability: organizing objects into categories using two or more
attributes; collecting and organizing categorical and discrete data; reading and displaying data
using vertical and horizontal bar graphs; understanding mode; predicting the frequency of an
outcome; relating fair games to equally likely events