Grade 3 basic math helper worksheets

math-20260406.md

ADDITION

1. The "Make 10" Trick

How: Steal from the second number to make the first number into 10. Example: $8 + 5$
8 needs 2 to make 10. Steal 2 from the 5, leaving 3.
Now you have $10 + 3 =$ 13

Your Turn:

1. $9 + 4 =$ ______
   (Steal 1 from the 4 to make 9 into 10)
2. $7 + 6 =$ ______
   (Steal 3 from the 6 to make 7 into 10)

2. The Pivot (Round then Fix)

How: Add to the nearest easy number, then take back the extra. Example: $37 + 48$
Pretend 48 is 50. $37 + 50 = 87$.
But you added 2 too many, so $87 - 2 =$ 85

Your Turn: 3. $29 + 56 =$ ______
(Pretend 29 is 30, add, then subtract 1) 4. $68 + 19 =$ ______
(Pretend 19 is 20, add, then subtract 1)

3. Left-to-Right (Big Chunks First)

How: Add the tens, then the ones, then add those together. Example: $54 + 38$
$50 + 30 = 80$
$4 + 8 = 12$
$80 + 12 =$ 92

Your Turn: 5. $45 + 27 =$ ______
(40 + 20 = ?, 5 + 7 = ?) 6. $63 + 29 =$ ______
(60 + 20 = ?, 3 + 9 = ?)

4. Near Doubles

How: Use a double you know, then add one more. Example: $6 + 7$
If $6 + 6 = 12$, then $6 + 7$ is just one more: 13

Your Turn: 7. $5 + 6 =$ ______
(Think: 5 + 5 = 10) 8. $8 + 9 =$ ______
(Think: 8 + 8 = 16)

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SUBTRACTION

1. Count Up (The "How Far?" Game)

How: Don’t subtract down—add up from the small number to the big one. Example: $73 - 68$
68 up to 70 is 2.
70 up to 73 is 3.
$2 + 3 =$ 5

Your Turn: 9. $81 - 76 =$ ______
(Go 76 → 80 → 81) 10. $65 - 58 =$ ______
(Go 58 → 60 → 65)

2. Keep the Gap the Same

How: Add the same small number to both to make the second one end in 0. Example: $63 - 29$
Add 1 to both: $64 - 30 =$ 34

Your Turn: 11. $52 - 18 =$ ______
(Add 2 to both to get 54 – 20) 12. $94 - 39 =$ ______
(Add 1 to both to get 95 – 40)

3. Break Off Chunks

How: Take away the tens first, then the ones. Example: $85 - 32$
$85 - 30 = 55$
$55 - 2 =$ 53

Your Turn: 13. $67 - 24 =$ ______
(67 – 20 = ?, then – 4) 14. $94 - 41 =$ ______
(94 – 40 = ?, then – 1)

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MULTIPLICATION

1. Break One Number into 10s and 1s

How: Split the harder number into 10 and the rest. Multiply separately, then add. Example: $7 \times 12$
$7 \times 10 = 70$
$7 \times 2 = 14$
$70 + 14 =$ 84

Your Turn: 15. $6 \times 14 =$ ______
(6 × 10 and 6 × 4) 16. $8 \times 13 =$ ______
(8 × 10 and 8 × 3)

2. The "Times 10 Minus" Pivot

How: Multiply by 10, then give back the extra groups. Example: $8 \times 9$
Eight 10s is 80, but you only wanted eight 9s.
Give back 8: $80 - 8 =$ 72

Your Turn: 17. $7 \times 9 =$ ______
(Seven 10s is 70...) 18. $4 \times 19 =$ ______
(Four 20s is 80...) (Hint: 19 is 20 minus 1)

3. Double & Halve (Sharing)

How: Cut one number in half, double the other. The answer stays the same. Example: $4 \times 18$
Half of 4 is 2. Double 18 is 36.
Now you have $2 \times 36 =$ 72
(Or keep going: $1 \times 72 = 72$)

Your Turn: 19. $14 \times 5 =$ ______
(Half of 14 is 7, double 5 is 10... now 7 × 10) 20. $8 \times 15 =$ ______
(Half of 8 is 4, double 15 is 30)

4. The 5s Trick

How: Times 10 is easy; 5 is half of that. Example: $18 \times 5$
$18 \times 10 = 180$. Take half: 90

Your Turn: 21. $24 \times 5 =$ ______
(Think 240, then half) 22. $16 \times 5 =$ ______
(Think 160, then half)

5. Use a Fact You Know

How: Start with an easy neighbor fact, then add one more group. Example: $6 \times 6$
You know $5 \times 6 = 30$.
$6 \times 6$ is just one more 6: $30 + 6 =$ 36

Your Turn: 23. $4 \times 6 =$ ______
(You know $4 \times 5 = 20$...) 24. $7 \times 8 =$ ______
(You know $7 \times 7 = 49$...)

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DIVISION

1. Think "Groups Of"

How: Ask "How many of these fit?" using times tables. Example: $72 \div 8$
"How many 8s make 72?"
$8 \times 9 = 72$, so the answer is 9

Your Turn: 25. $56 \div 7 =$ ______
(7 × ? = 56) 26. $48 \div 6 =$ ______
(6 × ? = 48)

2. Double Both (Keep it Fair)

How: Multiply both numbers by the same thing to make the second number a 10 or 100. Example: $72 \div 5$
Double both: $144 \div 10 =$ 14.4 (or about 14)

Your Turn: 27. $85 \div 5 =$ ______
(Double both: 170 ÷ 10) 28. $115 \div 5 =$ ______
(Double both: 230 ÷ 10)

3. Halve Over and Over

How: For dividing by 4 or 8, cut in half again and again. Example: $120 \div 4$
Half of 120 is 60. Half of 60 is 30

Your Turn: 29. $80 \div 4 =$ ______
(Half of 80 is... half of that is...) 30. $160 \div 8 =$ ______
(Half of 160 is 80... half of 80 is 40... half of 40 is 20)

4. The 5s & 25s Trick

How: Divide by 10 then double (for 5s). Divide by 100 then times 4 (for 25s). Example: $230 \div 5$
$230 \div 10 = 23$. Double it: 46

Your Turn: 31. $320 \div 5 =$ ______
(320 ÷ 10 = 32, then double) 32. $800 \div 25 =$ ______
(800 ÷ 100 = 8, then times 4)

5. Chunking (Take Away Big Bites)

How: Subtract big easy chunks instead of doing it all at once. Example: $184 \div 8$
Take 10 eights ($-80$): leaves 104
Take 10 more eights ($-80$): leaves 24
Take 3 eights ($-24$): leaves 0
$10 + 10 + 3 =$ 23

Your Turn: 33. $96 \div 6 =$ ______
(Take 60 away first... then 36 left) 34. $126 \div 7 =$ ______
(Take 70 away first... then 56 left)

math-20260412.md

ADDITION

(One problem per technique)

The "Make 10" Trick

How: Steal from the second number to make the first number into 10. Then add what’s left.
Example: $8 + 5$
Steal 2 from the 5 to turn 8 into 10. That leaves 3.
$10 + 3 =$ 13

Problem:
$7 + 9 =$ ______

The Pivot (Round then Fix)

How: Add to the nearest “easy” number (like the next 10), then subtract the extra amount you added.
Example: $37 + 48$
Pretend 48 is 50.
$37 + 50 = 87$, but you added 2 too many.
$87 - 2 =$ 85

Problem:
$28 + 39 =$ ______

Left-to-Right (Big Chunks First)

How: Add the tens together, then the ones together, then add those two answers.
Example: $54 + 38$
$50 + 30 = 80$ and $4 + 8 = 12$
$80 + 12 =$ 92

Problem:
$72 + 24 =$ ______

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SUBTRACTION

(One problem per technique)

Count Up (The "How Far?" Game)

How: Instead of subtracting down, add up from the smaller number to the larger one.
Example: $73 - 68$
From 68 to 70 is 2. From 70 to 73 is 3.
$2 + 3 =$ 5

Problem:
$84 - 78 =$ ______

Keep the Gap the Same

How: Add the same small number to both values to make the second number end in 0. The distance between them stays the same.
Example: $63 - 29$
Add 1 to both: $64 - 30 =$ 34

Problem:
$71 - 47 =$ ______

Break Off Chunks

How: Subtract the tens first, then subtract the ones from what’s left.
Example: $85 - 32$
$85 - 30 = 55$
$55 - 2 =$ 53

Problem:
$96 - 45 =$ ______

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MULTIPLICATION

(Two problems per technique)

Break One Number into 10s and 1s

How: Split the harder number into 10 and whatever is left over. Multiply each part separately, then add the results.
Example: $7 \times 12$
Seven 10s is 70. Seven 2s is 14.
$70 + 14 =$ 84

Problems:
$5 \times 16 =$ ______
$9 \times 14 =$ ______

The "Times 10 Minus" Pivot

How: Multiply by 10 first, then give back the extra groups you didn’t actually want.
Example: $8 \times 9$
Eight 10s is 80, but you wanted eight 9s, so give back 8.
$80 - 8 =$ 72

Problems:
$6 \times 9 =$ ______
$3 \times 19 =$ ______

Double & Halve (Sharing)

How: Cut one number in half and double the other number. This gives the same answer, but with easier numbers to work with.
Example: $4 \times 18$
Half of 4 is 2. Double 18 is 36.
$2 \times 36 =$ 72

Problems:
$12 \times 5 =$ ______
$16 \times 15 =$ ______

The 5s Trick

How: Multiply by 10 first (just add a zero), then take half.
Example: $18 \times 5$
$18 \times 10 = 180$. Half of 180 is 90.

Problems:
$22 \times 5 =$ ______
$14 \times 5 =$ ______

Use a Fact You Know

How: Use a multiplication fact you remember, then add one more group (or take one away).
Example: $6 \times 6$
You know $5 \times 6 = 30$. Add one more 6.
$30 + 6 =$ 36

Problems:
$8 \times 7 =$ ______
$9 \times 6 =$ ______

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DIVISION

(Two problems per technique — includes Think helpers)

Think "Groups Of"

How: Ask yourself, “How many groups of the divisor make the dividend?” Use a multiplication fact you know.
Example: $72 \div 8$
“How many 8s make 72?” $8 \times 9 = 72$, so the answer is 9.

Problems:
$63 \div 7 =$ ______ (Think: $7 \times \text{__} = 63$)
$54 \div 6 =$ ______ (Think: $6 \times \text{__} = 54$)

Double Both (Keep it Fair)

How: Multiply both numbers by the same amount (usually 2) to turn the divisor into 10 or 100, which is easier to divide.
Example: $85 \div 5$
Double both: $170 \div 10 =$ 17

Problems:
$45 \div 5 =$ ______ (Think: Double both → $\text{__} \div 10$)
$95 \div 5 =$ ______ (Think: Double both → $\text{__} \div 10$)

Halve Over and Over

How: For dividing by 4 or 8, cut the big number in half repeatedly.
Example: $120 \div 4$
Half of 120 is 60. Half of 60 is 30.

Problems:
$60 \div 4 =$ ______ (Think: Half of 60 is... half of that is...)
$200 \div 8 =$ ______ (Think: 100, then 50, then...)

The 5s & 25s Trick

How:

• For 5s: Divide by 10 first, then double the answer.
• For 25s: Divide by 100 first, then multiply by 4.
  Example: $230 \div 5$
  $230 \div 10 = 23$. Double it: 46.

Problems:
$150 \div 5 =$ ______ (Think: $15 \times 2$)
$400 \div 25 =$ ______ (Think: $4 \times 4$)

Chunking (Take Away Big Bites)

How: Subtract large, easy chunks of the divisor (like 10 groups or 20 groups) until you reach zero. Add up how many groups you took.
Example: $184 \div 8$
Take 10 eights (80): leaves 104.
Take 10 more eights (80): leaves 24.
Take 3 eights (24): leaves 0.
$10 + 10 + 3 =$ 23

Problems:
$84 \div 7 =$ ______ (Think: Take 70 first...)
$96 \div 8 =$ ______ (Think: Take 80 first...)