These free printable 3rd grade back to school math worksheets give kids a fun way to review important math skills as they begin a new school year.
Instead of page after page of the same type of problem, kids will solve number riddles, find teacher mistakes, crack a locker code, work with school buses and bookshelves, and tackle other back-to-school challenges.
It’s an easy way to see which skills are still fresh after summer and which ones might need a little more practice. These math worksheets are perfect for the first week of school.
The 4-page set combines number sense, place value, rounding, addition and subtraction, and other important 3rd grade skills with kid-friendly back to school worksheets and activities.
Difficulty Level
These back to school math worksheets are designed for children beginning 3rd grade.
The 4 worksheets review a variety of math skills, including:
- number sense and place value
- reading and working with numbers up to 100,000
- standard, expanded, and word form
- comparing and ordering numbers
- number lines and number patterns
- place value relationships
- rounding to the nearest 10, 100, and 1,000
- 3-digit addition and subtraction
- missing numbers in equations
- odd and even numbers
- math reasoning and number riddles
There is a mix of easier review and more challenging number sense questions. Some problems can be solved quickly, while others ask kids to look closely at the digits, use several clues, or figure out why an answer is incorrect.
Before each page, parents and teachers might want to take a few minutes to teach their student the math skills the page covers.
Back to School Number Sense Worksheet
Before working on the first page, children should be comfortable reading and working with 3-digit numbers.
They’ll need to understand how numbers are positioned on a number line and know that values increase as they move to the right and decrease as they move to the left. They should also be able to find numbers before, after, and between other numbers.
A basic understanding of place value is needed to count hundreds, tens, and ones represented with base-ten blocks. Children should also know how to compare numbers using the greater than, less than, and equal to symbols.
For the addition problems, they should know how to add 2-digit numbers to 3-digit numbers, including problems that require regrouping. They’ll need to look carefully at an incorrect sum, then calculate the correct answer.
Children will also need to be able to read numbers in standard form and recognize the matching number written in word form.
3rd Grade Place Value and Subtraction Worksheet
Before completing the second page, children should understand number patterns and be able to determine how much a sequence increases or decreases from one number to the next.
They’ll need to know the ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, and ten-thousands places and be able to identify the place of a particular digit in a multi-digit number.
Children should also understand the connection between expanded form and standard form. For example, they should recognize that:
40,000 + 7,000 + 300 + 20 + 5 = 47,325
The subtraction problems require children to subtract 2-digit numbers from 3-digit numbers. Some can be solved without regrouping, while others require regrouping.
The number riddle at the bottom requires a stronger understanding of place value. Children use clues about the value and relationship of different digits to build a 5-digit number.
Ordering, Expanded Form, and Word Form
For the third page, children should know how to compare multi-digit numbers one place at a time. When numbers have the same digit in the thousands place, for example, they’ll need to move to the hundreds, tens, or ones place until they find a difference.
They’ll use that understanding to arrange 4-digit numbers from least to greatest and greatest to least.
Children should also be able to convert numbers between different forms. They’ll need to break standard-form numbers into expanded form and write a 5-digit number in word form.
The final problem requires children to combine several number clues. They should understand greater than and less than, recognize even numbers, and know how the ones digit helps determine whether a number fits the clues.
Rounding and Place Value Worksheet
The fourth page requires the strongest number sense skills in the set.
Children should understand how the position of a digit affects its value. This includes knowing that the value of a digit becomes 10 times greater when it moves one place to the left and 100 times greater when it moves two places to the left.
They should know how to compare large numbers by starting with the greatest place value and moving to the right until the numbers differ.
Children will also need to understand how digit placement can be used to build the greatest or smallest possible number. Since some problems add an odd or even requirement, they should know that the ones digit determines whether a whole number is odd or even.
Before working on the rounding problems, children should understand that rounding is based on which benchmark number is closest. They’ll practice rounding to the nearest 10, 100, and 1,000, including using a number line to reason about which hundred is closer.
Finally, children should understand addition and subtraction well enough to find an unknown number in an equation, even when the missing number isn’t at the end.
Download and Print
To get the free printable 3rd grade back to school math worksheets, use either form below. The PDF will be emailed to you.
The printable includes the 4 black-and-white math worksheet pages shown above.
To print the worksheets, print pages 1-4. Since the pages are black and white, they’re economical to print and kids can add their own color as they work.