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3rd Grade Geometry Activities

13 3rd grade geometry activities. Teacher favorites: Seaside Symmetry Activity and Design Your Own Theme Park Unit Square Activity. How teachers use these

3rd Grade Geometry Activities

13 3rd grade geometry activities. Teacher favorites: Seaside Symmetry Activity and Design Your Own Theme Park Unit Square Activity. How teachers use these

Activity
Activity3rd GradeSeaside Symmetry Activity

In this seaside symmetry activity, 2nd to 5th grade students find the line of symmetry in sea pictures and sort them as symmetrical or asymmetrical, with an answer key included.

Activity
Activity3rd GradeDesign Your Own Theme Park Unit Square Activity

This design your own theme park unit square activity has kids count unit squares to find the area of rides, then draw them on a park map. For 3rd-4th grade, answer key included.

Activity
Activity3rd GradeArea and Perimeter Pirate Activity

This area and perimeter pirate activity has 3rd to 5th graders solve rectangle cards and match each pirate to the ship with the right answer and units. Answer key included.

Activity
Activity3rd GradeSweet Rectangular Arrays Addition Activity

This sweet rectangular arrays addition activity has 2nd-3rd grade students match cupcake arrays to equal-addend equations. Cards, a recording sheet and practice page, with an answer key included.

Activity
Activity3rd GradeFinding the Perimeter Activity

This finding the perimeter activity for 3rd and 4th grade has students find missing sides and match 12 shapes to their perimeters. Answer key included, so checking is quick.

Activity
Activity3rd GradeMake it Equal Partitioning Shapes Activity

Students match shape cards to fraction cards in this make it equal partitioning shapes activity for 2nd-3rd Grade, with a practice page and answer key included to build fraction sense.

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Activity3rd GradeGeometric Measurement Area Activity

Using this Geometric Measurement Area Activity, students measure areas by counting unit square and matching square units to pictures.

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Activity3rd GradeThey're Equal Equivalent Fractions Activity

In this they're equal equivalent fractions activity, 3rd-5th grade students match pizza fraction models to equal fractions and record each pair. Answer key included for easy checking.

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Activity3rd Grade1 Part of a Whole Fractions Activity

Children sort shape picture cards under one half, one third, one fourth, one sixth, one eighth or not equal in this 1st to 3rd grade fraction game. Recording sheet, practice page and answer key included.

Activity
Activity3rd GradeSort It Organizing Shapes Activity

This sort it organizing shapes activity has students sort 24 shape cards by rules like equal sides, right angles and parallel sides. Made for 3rd to 5th grade, with a practice page and answer key included.

Activity
Activity3rd GradeGeometric Measurement Understanding Unit Squares Activity

This geometric measurement understanding unit squares activity has 3rd-4th grade students match area words to meanings and pictures, then count unit squares. Answer key included for quick checking.

Activity
Activity3rd GradeGeometric Measurement Estimate and Count Unit Squares Activity

This estimate and count unit squares activity helps 2nd-3rd Grade students find area by covering shapes with paper tiles. A practice page and answer key are included.

Activity
Activity3rd GradeBattle Shape Battleship Activity

Using this Battle Shape Battleship Activity, students classify two-dimensional figures by their properties by playing a game of Battle Shape (a geometrical rendition of Battleship).

From our teachers' playbook

Square units, sides and shapes galore

What do 3rd graders learn about geometry?

Third grade geometry is mostly about measuring shapes. Kids learn that area is how many square units cover a shape, first by tiling and counting, then by multiplying: a 4 × 6 rectangle = 24 square units. They find perimeter by adding up the sides and learn that two shapes can have the same area but different perimeters. They also sort quadrilaterals, spotting that a square is a special kind of rectangle and rhombus. The click moment is when kids see that counting rows of squares is really just multiplication.

How we make geometry click in 3rd grade

Area and perimeter get mixed up all the time. These three moves keep them straight.

Tile it before you multiply

Give kids sticky notes or square tiles and have them cover a rectangle on their desk. Count the rows, count how many in each row, then count them all. After a few shapes, someone will say "Wait, it's just 3 times 5!" Now the formula is theirs, not yours.

Why it works: the U.S. Department of Education's guide for teaching elementary math recommends moving from hands-on objects to drawings to numbers.

Finding the Area in Square Units WorksheetTry it withFinding the Area in Square Units WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

Fence or carpet?

We use one simple question: "Are we putting a fence around it or carpet inside it?" Fence is perimeter, carpet is area. Kids turn and explain to a partner which one a problem needs before solving. Saying it out loud stops most mix-ups.

Why it works: when kids say the precise math words, their understanding gets sharper, a recommendation of the U.S. Department of Education's elementary math guide.

Perimeter Area WorksheetTry it withPerimeter Area WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

Shape family tree

Draw a big chart of quadrilaterals on the board and sort shapes into it together. Is a square a rectangle? Is a rectangle a square? Arguing it out with pictures helps kids understand that shapes belong to more than one family.

Why it works: children learn more from words and pictures together than from words alone (Mayer, 2009).

Finding Quadrilaterals WorksheetTry it withFinding Quadrilaterals WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

3rd grade geometry questions

What geometry do 3rd graders learn?

Third graders learn area and perimeter, how to classify quadrilaterals, and how to split shapes into equal parts. Area by multiplying rows and columns is the biggest new skill.

How do you explain area vs perimeter to kids?

Area is the space inside a shape, like carpet on a floor. Perimeter is the distance around it, like a fence. Area is measured in square units and perimeter in plain units.

What is a quadrilateral in 3rd grade?

A quadrilateral is any shape with four straight sides and four corners. Squares, rectangles, rhombuses and trapezoids are all quadrilaterals.

How can I help my 3rd grader with area at home?

Use floor tiles, cereal box squares or graph paper. Have your child count the squares in a rectangle, then show how rows times columns gives the same answer faster.