Mathematics

Instruction in our classroom meets or exceeds South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Standards.  Third-grade students begin to feel confident in their skills and have an increased problem-solving ability.  

The South Carolina College- and Career- Ready Standards uses these attributes to interest your child in the more advanced topics of multiplication and division. Third graders begin work with fractions and start to estimate, interpret graphs, and predict outcomes. They learn the basic concepts of Geometry.  Don’t be surprised when your child must explain the steps, one at a time, needed to solve a math problem. There are several reasons why this is now common practice. The activity requires students to organize their work. It provides a “trail” for checking answers; shows exactly what was done; and allows for intervention exactly at the point where necessary. By showing their work, students are more accurate and avoid habits that could hinder their math progress.

Mathematics instruction in our classroom has two very important functions:

• First, it's to create problem solvers!  Figuring out how to solve a problem is more important than the answer itself.  Your child's ability to apply inquiry and logical reasoning to real-life situations is essential.
• Secondly, the function of mathematics is to enhance your child's intellectual capacity - that is to solve increasingly more complex problems as they learn.  Getting the right answer is important, but the easiest way is not always the best way - at least not at first.  Students may be taught more than one algorithm or more than one strategy to solve a particular kind of problem.  Knowing when to apply a given strategy requires that students know most or all of the required skills.  In other words, if students are taught only one way (the easiest) to solve a problem, it may be a limiting factor.  Once students have been taught and have learned multiple ways to solve a problem so that they may apply different strategies or skills to different kinds of problems, then it certainly is appropriate to apply the easiest strategy for a particular problem!  

Please Note:  Student must know their multiplication facts (0-12) by the end of Quarter 1 (October 9, 2024)!  Periodic fact assessments will be administered throughout the year.