Family Math Newsletter 3•1
NYS COMMON CORE MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM
Grade 3 • Module 1 • Topics B
Family Math Newsletter
Welcome to Third Grade Math!
This second letter, highlighting age-appropriate mathematical concepts that your third grader is learning this
year, includes ideas foundational to the further development of their understanding of multiplication and
division. Once again this letter includes a summary of what your child is learning, key vocabulary terms, and
ways you can provide support and make connections at home as we work through Topic B here at school.
Division as an Unknown Factor Problem
Module 1’s study of factors links Topic A and B because just as factors create
products in multiplication, those same factors are critical in the understanding
of division. Learning division as an unknown factor problem (3 x ? = 15)
emphasizes the meaning of a factor as either the number of groups or the size
of the group. This understanding is further explored through a variety of
word problems and various models or abstract drawings (such as number
bonds).
? x 6 = 24
24 ÷ 6 = ?
Unknown factors and Quotients
Unknown factors are the same as the
quotient in a division equation.
Number Bond
4 x 6 = 24
24 ÷ 6 = 4
How to Help at Home




Make arrays out of household items (e.g. pennies, beans, blocks) and
determine how many are in each row as well as the entire array.
For the child who’s a budding author/illustrator, have them create story
problems and illustrations for the multiplication and division facts that
you give them.
Sorting by size:
Act out division problems at snack
time.has
Forbig
example,
“This group
bears. give your third
group
has small
grader 16 (or another multipleThat
of 4)
grapes
thatbears.”
he/she has to equally
share with 3 others after school and talk with you about what they’re
doing and why.
Play hopscotch! Draw the hopscotch board on the sidewalk or driveway
and have your child group count for each hop. They should be practicing
their 2’s, 3’s, 5’s and 10’s and this is a fun, active way to sneak in a little
extra practice.
Module 1:
Date:
© 2014 Common Core, Inc. Some rights reserved. commoncore.org
Key Ideas

Students will be explain the
unknown factor as the size of the
group in division.

Students will be able to explain
the unknown factor as the
number of groups in division

Students will be able to model
division using an array.
For more information about Third
Grade in New York State, please visit
https://www.engageny.org/resource/g
rade-3-mathematics
New Vocabulary
Division
Divided by
Unknown factor
Quotient
Words and Key Terms
to Review
array
row
number of groups
size of groups
factor
product
multiply
multiplication
Family Math Newsletter Topics A–D
8/12/15
1
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Family Math Newsletter 3•1
NYS COMMON CORE MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM
Spotlight on Math Models
In third grade, students use physical objects, pictures, drawings, diagrams and models, such
as the arrays seen in topic A, to engage with math concepts in a way that is appropriate
and efficient.
In topic B, they will use number bonds to help explain their
understanding of the role of factors in multiplication and division
problems. A number bond shows the relationship between a number (whole) and the
parts that can be combined to make it. Introducing children to number bonds helps
them transition from concrete objects, to pictoral representations and to more abstract
models so that they can easily demonstrate their learning. It is just one way we work to
support your child’s growth and future success in math because it is a fantastic visual tool that helps them
understand and explain their ideas .
Fluency
Fanatics
Modeling Vocabulary
Learning new vocabulary is key in your child’s growth and development
as a life long learner. One way we do that is to study the new vocabulary
word using many different models. Take multiplication for example. There
are many ways to model and visualize what is happening in a story problem.
Take a look below.
With every day’s math lesson
comes an opportunity to
practice our mathematical
fluency in another way. We
begin each day of math with
Kayla wanted to make gifts to share with her friends to celebrate the new
two or three fun, fast-paced
school year. She wanted to give each friend a pencil, cap eraser, and piece
activites to practice our group of mint candy. If she made back to school gift bags for herself and four
counting of multiples (group
friends, how many total items will she be putting inside the bags?
count by 3 and we’re
practicing the multiples of
Number Bond
Array
threes, group count by 4’s and
we’re practicing our fluency
with the multiples of 4).
Ask your child
to show
what they know.
Regardless of the model, it is clear to see that 5 groups of 3 items (5 x 3)
equals 15 and that Kayla needed a total of 15 items to put inside the gift
bags for her friends.
Module 1:
Date:
© 2014 Common Core, Inc. Some rights reserved. commoncore.org
Family Math Newsletter Topics A–D
8/12/15
2
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.