Word Problems: 3rd Grade

Grade level

3rd grade

Time

About 25 minutes

Topic

Math word problems

Answer key

Yes, page 2 of the PDF

Kids practice

Reading word problems, Choosing the operation, Showing work, Multi-step reasoning

What kids do

“Read each problem. Multiply or divide? Show your work. Write the answer.”

Printed on the sheet:

1. 1 There are 6 tables in the art room. Each table has 4 chairs. How many chairs are there?
2. 2 32 kids line up in 4 equal teams. How many kids are on each team?
3. 3 A pack has 8 markers. Mr. Diaz buys 7 packs. How many markers does he buy?
4. 4 45 cookies are put in bags of 5. How many bags are filled?
5. 5 A garden has 9 rows with 6 plants in each row. How many plants are in the garden?
6. 6 Zoe has 28 photos. She puts 7 photos on each page of her album. How many pages does she fill?

Words on this sheet

chairskidsmarkersbagsplantspages

Teacher tip

Ask “Is this equal groups or sharing?” on each problem before kids pick multiply or divide.

How to use it

• Let kids act out a problem or draw it before they write a number sentence.
• Have partners solve the same problem two ways and compare.
• Do the first problem together under a document camera, then let kids finish on their own.

Watch for

Answers with no unit. Ask “Twelve what?”

Talk about it

• Which words in the story tell you what to do?
• Which problem was the hardest? What made it hard?

Take it further

Use the class lunch count, weather chart or library books to make real word problems.

US Letter, prints well in black and white. Free for home and classroom use: print as many copies as you need.