Your 8 Year Olds Need Financial Literacy Skills, Do You Know Why?

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Why Financial Literacy Activities Are Essential for 3rd Graders

In today’s world, developing financial literacy from an early age is critical. The 3rd-grade financial literacy worksheets and activities at worksheetplace.com offer a perfect way for young students to start learning foundational money skills. These worksheets are not just about math; they’re about equipping children with the skills they need to make sound financial decisions, understand the value of money, and build responsibility.

1. Learning the Value of Money

At the 3rd-grade level, students are just beginning to understand how money works in the real world. By learning to identify coins, count change, and understand the concept of earning and spending, children can grasp the basics of money management. These worksheets help reinforce skills like addition and subtraction through practical, real-life applications. This kind of hands-on practice ensures that students can see the value of money and begin to understand the importance of budgeting.

2. Building Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking Skills

Financial literacy activities help children build essential problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. For example, when a worksheet poses a scenario where students need to determine whether they have enough money to buy something, they’re encouraged to think through the decision-making process. By working on these activities, children learn to approach money-related situations with thoughtfulness, enhancing their math skills and reasoning abilities simultaneously.

3. Developing Financial Responsibility

Introducing financial concepts at this age also helps foster responsibility. As they work through activities about saving, spending, and budgeting, students start to understand that money is finite and that choices need to be made carefully. These worksheets can even inspire children to start saving for small goals, such as a favorite toy or treat, which teaches them patience and prioritization.

4. Preparing for Real-World Situations

Learning about money early on prepares children for real-life financial situations they’ll face as they grow. The 3rd-grade money worksheets at worksheetplace.com help familiarize students with concepts like spending within limits, making change, and understanding costs. These foundational skills set the stage for more complex financial concepts they’ll encounter in later grades, such as saving accounts, interest, and investing.

5. Engaging and Age-Appropriate Learning

The worksheets on worksheetplace.com are designed with engaging graphics and simple language, making them enjoyable and accessible for 3rd graders. The activities use age-appropriate examples that resonate with students, such as imaginary purchases and budgeting for small items. This engaging approach makes learning about money fun, helping students stay motivated and interested in the topic.

Incorporating financial literacy in the 3rd-grade curriculum gives children a head start on becoming financially savvy individuals. These worksheets equip young learners with the foundational knowledge they need to manage money wisely and responsibly, setting them up for a brighter financial future.

Why Kids Should Learn to Tell Time both Digital and Analogue:

Free Digital and Printable QUIZZES

Learning to tell both digital and analogue time is essential for students because it equips them with a fundamental life skill. Understanding analogue clocks helps develop a sense of time's passage and improves mathematical concepts like fractions and number sense. Digital clocks, on the other hand, are ubiquitous in modern life, making it crucial for students to read and interpret them quickly.

Combining both skills ensures students can navigate various real-world scenarios with confidence and accuracy, whether it's reading a school schedule or understanding timelines. Plus, the ability to toggle between formats enhances cognitive flexibility and critical thinking.

These free Google quizzes and printable worksheets are fantastic tools for reinforcing these skills. They offer interactive and diverse learning experiences, making it fun and engaging for students.  Free for you to use.

Should Students Memorize the Timestables by Doing Mad Minutes?

Mad Minute Timestables in
Google Quizzes and PDF

Mad Minute times table drills, where students are given a short period of time - typically a minute to complete as many multiplication facts as possible, are a common practice in classrooms. They aim to increase fluency and automaticity in basic math facts. Let’s break down the pros and cons of this approach, and address whether it should be done in an orderly fashion and under time pressure, as well as what research suggests.

Pros of Mad Minute Timestable Facts

1. Builds Fluency and Automaticity:
   Mad Minute drills help students quickly recall basic math facts.
   Fluency with multiplication facts is essential for success in more complex math tasks, like multi-digit multiplication, division, and algebra.

2. Enhances Confidence:
   When students successfully complete these drills, it can boost their confidence in their math abilities. Immediate feedback and improvement can be motivating.

3. Time Management Skills:
   Being timed encourages students to focus, manage their time effectively, and work under pressure, which can be beneficial for standardized testing and other timed assessments.

4. Gamification:
   The timed, competitive nature of Mad Minutes can make learning fun for some students, especially if the challenge is framed as a game or competition.

5. Tracking Progress:
   It provides teachers with a quick and easy way to assess how well students have memorized their times tables, identifying areas where more practice is needed.

Cons of Mad Minute Timestable Facts

1. Anxiety and Stress:
   Timed tests can cause significant anxiety for some students, particularly those who struggle with math. This can lead to negative feelings towards math and affect their overall performance.

2. Speed vs. Understanding:
   The focus on speed can sometimes overshadow a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts. Students may rush through answers, and while they may recall facts quickly, this does not necessarily mean they understand the "why" behind them.

3. Negative Impact on Math Confidence:
   For students who struggle with fact recall or who have learning differences (like dyscalculia), timed drills can lead to feelings of inadequacy and frustration, which can diminish their overall confidence in math.

4. Limited Scope:
   Mad Minute focuses on rote memorization rather than critical thinking or problem-solving skills. It does not help students develop strategies for working through more complex math problems.

5. Not Suitable for All Learners:
   Every student learns at a different pace. Timed drills may disadvantage students who process information more slowly, even if they eventually know the facts well.

Should Mad Minute Drills Be Done in an Orderly Fashion?

Having the multiplication facts presented in an orderly fashion  if doing them, is the way to go. Start with the 2 times tables, the 10 times tables and the 5 times tables. As students learn those, move to the doubles - 2x2, 3x3, 4x4 etc. When these are all known, then try random. Students need to progress at their own level.

IMPORTANT: However, randomizing the facts after initial mastery is important to ensure that students truly know the facts, not just the order they appear in. A mix of both orderly and random drills might be the most effective approach.

Should Mad Minute Drills Be Timed?

Timing drills has both advantages and disadvantages. Timed tests can increase fluency, but if overused, they can also increase stress. Some research suggests that focusing too much on speed can be detrimental to students' confidence and enjoyment of math.

Research from Jo Boaler (Stanford University) and others emphasizes that focusing too heavily on timed tests may cause math anxiety, especially in younger children. These researchers advocate for a balance between building fluency and encouraging a deep understanding of numbers, suggesting that speed should not be the only focus in math learning.

What Does the Research Say?

1. Fluency Matters, Not Just Speed:
   Studies show that fluency in basic facts is important for later mathematical success, but this fluency doesn't necessarily need to be developed through timed tests. Games, number talks, and math centers that encourage practice in a low-stress environment may also be effective.

2. Math Anxiety and Timed Tests:
   Research, especially from educational psychologists, indicates that timed math tests can lead to math anxiety in some students, particularly those who struggle with working memory or processing speed. Math anxiety has been linked to poor long-term performance in math.

3. Differentiation is Key:
   Educators are encouraged to differentiate their instruction. Some students may thrive under timed pressure, while others benefit from more time to process the facts. Personalizing the approach can lead to better outcomes for a diverse classroom.

Conclusion:

Mad Minute drills can be an effective tool for building fluency in multiplication facts, but they should be used thoughtfully. For many students, they can boost confidence and help develop a quick recall of basic facts. However, for others, they may increase stress and lead to a negative perception of math.

The most balanced approach is to:

• Use a mix of orderly and only randomized drills when the 2's, 5's, 10's and doubles are known..
• Include timed practice but also provide untimed opportunities for students to build fluency at their own pace.
• Consider alternative ways of practicing facts, like games, group work, or technology, especially for students who struggle with timed pressure.

Differentiating instruction based on individual student needs can ensure that every learner progresses in their mastery of multiplication facts without unnecessary anxiety or frustration.

Free versions here - both google quizzes and printables.

100s Chart Freebies for 2nd-5th Grades

If you haven't been using 100s charts with your students, this package of worksheets and set of suggestions will help you provide learning opportunities in math that will lead your students down the path to permanent learning. 
Number Recognition: A hundreds chart helps children recognize and understand the patterns of numbers from 1 to 100, aiding in the development of number sense.
Counting Skills: It provides a visual aid for counting by ones, twos, fives, and tens, promoting efficient counting skills.
Skip Counting: Children can easily learn and practice skip counting by using the rows and columns on the hundreds chart, which is essential for developing multiplication skills.
Patterns and Relationships: The chart highlights number patterns and relationships, helping children grasp concepts like odd and even numbers, as well as multiples.
Place Value Understanding: Children can visually see the relationship between tens and ones, reinforcing their understanding of place value.
Addition and Subtraction Practice: The chart serves as a tool for practicing addition and subtraction by allowing children to visually track the movement of numbers when adding or subtracting.
Spatial Awareness: Using a hundreds chart helps children develop spatial awareness and an understanding of how numbers are organized in a grid. (What are all the numbers on the far left? far right? across the top?
Introduction to Coordinates: It introduces basic coordinate concepts as children identify specific cells on the chart using row and column coordinates. (What is down 6 and over three?)
Number Recognition Games: Teachers and parents can create engaging games and activities using the hundreds chart to make learning fun and interactive. (I am in the third row down and 4 from the left, what am I?)

Problem Solving: The chart is a useful tool for problem-solving activities, encouraging critical thinking skills as children navigate and analyze number relationships.

The Hundreds Chart Lesson Ideas

Free 100s Chart Teaching Ideas

Ever wondered about all the math concepts that can be addressed by using a 100 chart?
Let me start with my top 10 lesson ideas for a hundreds chart.


More than and less than: we want our students to be able to quickly know what 1 more, 2 more, 1 less and 2 less than are. Play riddles, "I'm 3 less than 55, I'm 2 more than 18..."

1. Look for the patterns. Cover up all of the odd numbers with counters/coins. What pattern do you see?
2. Patterns: What can you say about the number below any number? (always 10 more)
   What can you say about the number above any number? (always 10 less)
   What can you say about the number beside any given number? (1 less, 1 more)
   What can you say about any number on the diagonal? (downward, the one's place and ten's place increase by one digit, upward the ten's place decreases and one's place increases.
3. Problem solving/Deductive and Inductive Reasoning: Look at image 1.
   For a piece of the 100 chart, a child only needs one number to complete the rest. To solve these types of problems, the child says, I know the number beside/on top or below must be___, therefore, the missing number must be and so on and so forth.
4. Growing and Shrinking Patterns: Identify as many of these types of patterns as you can.
5. Adding and Subtracting: The hundreds chart provides an excellent visual to see subtraction and addition.

There's much, much more that can be done, but for a great start, check out my hundreds chart worksheets and lesson ideas here.

Using Input Output Tables

Free Pre Algebra Unit

Free Worksheets for Basic Function Tables

Input output function tables can be very useful with early learners for the basic multiplication, division, subtraction and addition facts. Students need to look at the pattern, determine what the rules is (divide by 3, add 6, multiply by 2....) then they complete the answers and state the rules. These input ouput tables differ from basic operation worksheets because they require the child to look at the answers and determine the pattern before completing the tables. They are then required to state the rule.

Math is all about making connections, worksheets like this require the student to think critically, analyze what is happening, determine the answer and state the rule.  Best of all, these worksheets are all free.

If you like these worksheets, please share with a friend or colleague.

What worksheet needs do you have? Submit your requests and within no time, our teachers will create them. Best of all, they are always free. Have a great week in education.

Learning to Print Numbers

Free Printing Numbers Unit

Free Number Word Printing Unit

When introducing young learners to printing numbers, be sure to associate the printed word and the symbol with the acutal amount it represents. Knowing how to print the words and numbers is only helpful when the child undertands the amount it represents.When teaching the printing of numbers, it's helpful to always start at the top of each number for ease and for consistency.

This week I have posted some number worksheets. You'll find coloring worksheets for the numbers one to ten, a great number booklet along with pale tracers for beginner learners.

If you don't find the worksheets you're looking for, let me know and we'll be sure to create them for you.
Have a great week and stay tuned, more worksheets are being created weekly.

Yours in education, Dar

How to Teach the Times Tables

Here is an Article on How To Teach the Multiplication Facts

STOP with random multiplication facts - it DOES NOT lead to committing the facts to memory. Here is what you need to know and do:

According to the Common Core Standards, by the end of grade three, students will know from memory all products of two one-digit numbers. I’m not sure I had to memorize the times tables until the 5th grade! In my many years as a teacher, I only had a handful of students each year that would have committed the multiplication facts to memory by the end of grade three. A lofty goal for eight year olds indeed!

Before students are able to commit the multiplication tables to memory, they need to understand what multiplication is. Students need to develop a foundation for understanding multiplication which will need to begin prior to grade three. Students need to be exposed to skip counting, which means they need to count by 2’s, 5’s and 10’s as they develop fluency with counting by two, five and ten, the other numbers (3, 4, 7, 8, 9) should be added. They need to understand that multiplication is groups of the same number of things. For instance, 4 x 7 means 4 groups of 7 things or 7 groups of 4 things. Then they can begin to commit the multiplication facts to memory.

Committing the facts to memory should not be a random process. Students need to learn the times tables in a sequential pattern, when one table has been mastered, move to the next. For instance, if a child doesn't know the 10, 2 or 5 times tables, keep working on those before doing random worksheets or any of the other tables. Random multiplication facts worksheet should not  be used until children have a reasonable recall or memory of most of the tables.

Follow this sequence to help students learn their multiplication facts. Each link provides you with 6 worksheets with answers in PDF format.

-Start with the 2 times tables (for each table, there are 6 worksheets with answers).

- 10 times tables

-5 times tables

-then doubles (3x3, 4x4, 6x6, 7x7, 8x8, 9x9)  also called multiplication squares

-the 3 times tables

-the 4 times tables

-the 6 times tables

-the 7 times tables

-the 8 times tables

-the 9 times tables

Do not move from one level until mastery (or almost mastery) is achieved at each level.

For third grade students to master the times tables for all of the products of two 1-digit numbers, a solid foundation of skills will be needed starting when students begin school. These skills include being able to identify numbers and number quantity, count, skip count, and add numbers up to 100 and represent numbers and the four operations symbolically.

Trust me on this one,

Greater Than or Less Than Worksheets

A Trick To Help Our Young Learners

I think I love this tip as much as my students snicker away as I share it with them.

Although it seems like a pretty easy concept, greater than and less than symbols are quite confusing for young learners. Last week, I heard one of the more comical ways of remembering these symbols, it was just  too good not to share so here you are:

"The guy with the big nose, always looks down at us so he is the biggest number!"

The students laughed and a parent told me her son won't forget it.

Give the strategy a try and here are the greater than and less than worksheets to see if it works. Have another great tip? Share in comments.

It's just over a month until Christmas, are you ready? Have a great teaching week!

My Math Rant

When It Comes to Curriculum and Standards, I Have Been Known to Have a Few Rants

If you are teaching math in North America, chances are that your curriculum/standards are ridiculously daunting. Is it any wonder that the teaching of it is often referred to as the inch deep, mile long approach? Plain and simple, there is too much content!

Teachers have an impossible job. How can children possibly understand so many math concepts? The truth is, they can't! I'm sure that when these math courses of study, standards or curricular documents were put together, they were done by complete math specialists. Great, in their minds, everything is important. However, with approximately 50 minutes a day for about 180 days 'everything' can't be LEARNED, regardless that everything is taught.

My advice? Use your flexible common sense. Look at those common core standards or your curriculum and tease out those important concepts or Big Ideas and eliminate the rest!

Less is more and if we are going to teach our students anything, we need to ensure that they are learning.  If you're not sure what's important in math, I'd be concerned. However, ask a colleague. Dig deeper and teach less of those concepts, your students will then learn.

If you feel like I do, I would love to hear your feedback.

Active Math

Yes, Math Can Be Active Too

I design worksheets and here I am advocating 'active math'.  What is active math you ask? It's using body movements to learn math concepts. Why? Because young learners need to be active. When you allow for physical activity, learners are more engaged which allows for more permanent learning of  the concept being taught.

Just how to you get your learners physical for math? Here are 3 to get you started:

1. All students stand up. Do the countdown around the room. Start at any number and when it's an even number, the girls touch their toes, when it's an odd number the boys turn around once. You can add any other elements you wish. (Jump once, squat twice etc.)
2. Form numbers with bodies. 1 or 2 students makes their body form a shape or number.
3. Math stomp. The teacher gives the question (3x2 or 9+2 or 12-7) etc. and the students stomp the answer by lifting their knees up and stomping down. Or students squat the number of times the answer would be.

Let you imagination wonder, add movement to math facts and you'll have a more engaged class! Use the comment section to add yours.
Of course, now that the class is tired out, you might want to turn to some fun math worksheets:

• addition worksheets
• counting worksheets
• greater or less than worksheets

Have something to share? Let me know,

The Value of Skip Counting

A Few Tips

Skip counting is an important skill and can really turn into a great deal of fun. Skip counting merely means to count by 2's, 3's, 4's etc. When a child learns to skip count, the strategy will help with later math concepts:

• Multiplication, let's say they're doing 4 x 6, they simply skip count by 4's or 6's tapping on each finger.....6....12.....18.....24 (tapping each finger as they skip count helps to remember how many times.)
• Division, let's say they're doing 25 divided by 5, again, they skip count by 5, tapping each finger so they know how many taps they've done as they count 5, 10, 15, 20, 25

These are just a couple to name a few. To an adult, it just makes sense, however, to a child, you will want to point out this strategy.  Another great way to emphasize skip counting is to use 100's charts. For these, you will ask the child to shade skip counts of 2 in yellow, or put an x on skip-counts to 4, or circle skip counts of 6. Get your imagination going as the ideas are endless.
See the worksheet resources here.

Enjoy and be sure to share your great ideas, educators are always looking for something new to try.

Math Rehab!

A Fun Remedial Approach in Math

This week a fellow colleague/teacher shared with me how he remediates in math. He uses some interesting terms to ensure that students get the big idea behind the math concept.

So, for instance let's say the concept is integers and the 4 operations. There's an exit ticket which is essentially a quick test with the basic questions about the concept. If the student misses the boat, in other words, they can't add/subtract/multiply and divide with positive and negative numbers. They are put into math rehab.

Math rehab provides them with some extra time to learn the concept. Math rehab will occur with additional homework or a few missed recesses. Sure makes the kids pay attention as they want their exit ticket.