Math Inquiry: Place Value

The York District School Board is encouraging teachers to use problem-solving, inquiry, and critical thinking across subject areas.  Beginning this week, the Grade 3 students will be starting a number sense and numeration unit in math.  We will focus on place value, addition, and subtraction of whole numbers up to 1000.  We will be incorporating problem-solving and critical thinking into this unit.  Students will be ‘discovering’ how these concepts work through a lot of hands-on activities.  For example, students will need to find a variety of efficient strategies to count large collections of objects.  As well, we will be exploring skip counting, addition, and subtraction by solving problems involving a t-shirt company.

Parents may find that there will not be the same kind of homework involved in this unit.  We will be developing a deeper understanding of the following concepts and skills in class:

• Representing whole numbers up to 1000 in a variety of ways
• Demonstrating the value of the digits in 3-digit numbers in a variety of ways
• Solving problems that arise from real-life situations and that relate to the magnitude of whole numbers up to 1000
• Counting forward and backward by 1s, 2s, 5s, 10s, and 100s to 1000 from various starting points, using a variety of tools and strategies
• Counting forward by 25s to 1000 starting from multiples of 25, using a variety of tools and strategies
• Solving problems involving the addition and subtraction of 2-digit numbers, using a variety of mental math strategies
• Adding and subtracting 3-digit numbers, using concrete materials and standard methods

Students will practice making connections and explaining their reasoning in a variety of ways.  At school, we will not be focusing on rote memorization of number facts.  To support this math unit at home, parents can pose real-life problems to their children and discuss best solutions.  Parents can also encourage children to justify their answers using math vocabulary.  Math websites such as Dreambox and Prodigy will also be set up at school and can be used as a supplement at home.