Are you looking for a way to make 3rd grade addition and subtraction fun for your students? If so, you’ve come to the right place!
In this blog post, we’ll discuss some addition and subtraction activities that your students will love.
Whether you’re teaching addition with regrouping, or 3-digit subtraction, these activities will engage your third graders in creative and exciting ways! They might even forget they are practicing math!
Make an Addition Relay Race
First, split the class into two teams. Once students are in their teams, have them grab their whiteboards, and get ready to race.
The objective is to solve 3-digit addition problems as accurately and quickly as they can. With every correct answer, they’ll pass the whiteboard and marker to the next player on their team until they’ve all had a chance to play.
The race continues until one team solves three problems correctly and crosses the finish line. You can also do this with subtraction.
Addition and Subtraction Shopping Activity
Setting up a pretend store in your classroom is a fantastic way to practice 3-digit addition and subtraction skills while having loads of fun!
First things first, gather up some items for your store. You can use toys, books, classroom supplies or even household items like fruit or snacks. Make sure you put a price tag on each item using three digit numbers, like $150 or $375.
Once you’ve got the items displayed, it’s time to start doing math! Practice adding up the cost of various items, or use subtraction to calculate the change owed!
Make Addition and Subtraction Board Games
Creating a game board with dice to practice addition and subtraction is not only educational but it can also be incredibly fun!
To begin, gather up materials like paper, markers, and dice. Students will draw a game board with enough spaces for both players to move their game pieces along the board.
Each space can represent a different math problem, such as addition or subtraction problems that involve three-digit numbers. Make sure to mix in easy and challenging problems to keep the game exciting.
Modeling how to do this for your students can be especially helpful for their first time creating a board game. After you’ve modeled this to your class, you can apply it to other math skills throughout the year.
Next, allow students to decorate their game boards to make it fun! Once they have their game boards set up, allow your students to play their games with a partner.
This can be a fun activity for Fridays! Have students turn in a scrap sheet of paper where they worked out their addition and subtraction problems.
Use Cards or Dice to Practice Adding and Subtracting
Playing cards or dice can be great tools for learning how to add and subtract 3-digit numbers.
To use playing cards, simply draw three cards and place them face up to make your three digit number. Then, draw three more cards and add the two 3-digit numbers.
For subtraction, simply draw cards and subtract the smaller number from the larger number. If you’d rather have your students roll dice, use dice to roll 3-digit numbers and add or subtract them.
Need More 3rd Grade Addition and Subtraction Activities?
Now that you have some ideas about how to make addition and subtraction engaging, give them a try in your class!
And if you’re looking for even more activities and lessons for 3rd grade addition and subtraction, check out our 3rd Grade Guided Math Addition and Subtraction Unit.
It includes everything you need to teach four weeks of addition and subtraction standards!
Grab the unit here!
