You are aiming to teach all Year 3 children age-related expectations by the end of the year. But what are the basic skills that you can't let them leave your class without?
Hamilton's 'Go to the Wall' skills are the heart of what enables children to become successful in maths. They are the building blocks of maths without which children will be blocked from making further progress. All children need to work towards age-related expectations throughout the year. But you need to be sure that children are confident in these 'Go to the Wall' mathematical skills before year-end. EVERY child should possess ALL these ground-level skills as they leave Year 3.
- Locate any 3-digit number on a landmarked line from 0-1000 and use this to order and compare numbers.
- Understand place value in 3-digit numbers; add and subtract 1s, 10s or 100s without difficulty; use this to add and subtract multiples of 1, 10, 100 to/from 3-digit numbers.
- Know securely number pairs for all the numbers up to and including 20, e.g. pairs which make 15 (7 + 8, 6 + 9, 5 + 10, 4 + 11, 3 + 12, 2 + 13, 1 + 14, 0 + 15)
- Round to the nearest ten and hundred, e.g. 34 to the nearest ten is 30, 276 to the nearest hundred is 300.
- Mentally add or subtract any pair of 2 digit numbers, e.g. 75 + 58 or 75 - 58.
- Recognise that there are two ways of completing subtractions, either by counting up (using Frog) or by counting back, e.g. 54 - 7 (counting up).
- 54 - 21 (counting back).
It is not entirely how close the numbers are that decides which strategy (counting up or counting back) is appropriate, it is the difficulty of the calculation involved. So 64 – 40 may be best done by counting back, but 64 – 27 is best done by counting up. Children need to be able to recognise whether they want to count back or count up using Frog. If in doubt, use Frog! Children make fewer errors!
- Subtract larger numbers with confidence, using Frog for counting up, e.g. 302 - 288.
- Understand that multiplication is commutative, e.g. 4x8 is the same as 8 x 4.
- Know the 2x, 3x, 5x and 10x times tables. All tables need to be learned to 12th multiple. Include division facts (important). So we know how many 3s in 36, i.e. 36 ÷ 3 = 12, as well as knowing 12 x 3 = 36.
- Multiply any 2-digit number by 10 or a single-digit number by 100; divide any multiple of 10 or 100 by 10 or 100. Understand the effect of multiplying and dividing whole numbers by 10 and 100.
- Multiply a 1-digit number by a 2-digit number starting to use the grid e.g. 4 x 13 =
- Partition to double and halve numbers
- Know that division is the inverse of multiplication, e.g. that ? x 3 = 21 ≡ 21 ÷ 3 = ?
- Recognise and derive equivalent fractions for ½, ¼, ¾, e.g. ¼ ≡ 3/12.
- Find unit and non-unit fractions of small amounts.
- Add and subtract easy amounts of money, e.g. £3.64 + £4.50, and give change by counting up, e.g. £10 - £6.95 as £6.95 + 5p + £3 so change is £3.05.
- Compare durations of events using analogue and digital times.
- Know that there are 100cm in a metre and that there are 10mm in a centimetre; use a ruler to measure lines.
- Identify right angles as 90⁰ in shapes, and also as turns; recognise angles as less than or greater than 90⁰; identify horizontal and vertical lines.
We strongly recommend that you ensure that your children fully master these skills by tracking them through the year.