FAMILY LETTER

NAME DATE (PAGE 1 OF 2)

About the Mathematics in This Unit

Dear Family,

Our class is starting a new mathematics unit about addition and subtraction
called Travel Stories and Collections. In this unit, students practice and refine
addition and subtraction strategies and solve different types of subtraction
problems. They work on understanding the place value of 3-digit numbers
and learn about the size of the number 1,000.

Throughout the unit, students work toward the following goals:

Benchmarks/Goals Examples

Use knowledge of place value to Put the following numbers in order on the number
read, write, sequence, and round line below. Then circle the number you would round
numbers up to 1,000. to 300 when rounding to the nearest 100.

423 234 432 342

234 342 423 432

200 300 400 500

Solve addition problems with Solve:

3-digit numbers (up to 400) by using 286 286 200 1 100 5 300
strategies that involve breaking _____
1138 _____
1138 80 1 30 5 110
numbers apart, either by place value 300 6 1 8 5 14
or by adding one number 110 300 1 110 1 14 5 424
14
_____
1
in parts.
424

Solve subtraction problems with 2- Solve:

and 3-digit numbers (up to 300) by 148 148 2 2 5 146
using strategies that involve either 62
_____
2 146 2 40 5 106
subtracting one number in parts or 106 2 20 5 86
finding the difference by adding up 20 40 2
or subtracting back.

86 106 146 148

UNIT 3 115 SESSION 1.1 © Pearson Education 3

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NAME DATE (PAGE 2 OF 2)

About the Mathematics in This Unit

This unit is the first of two units that focus on
addition, subtraction, and the number system in
Grade 3. Later this year, students will continue to
work on developing accurate and efficient strategies
for both addition and subtraction. In our math class,
students spend time discussing problems in depth and
are asked to share their reasoning and solutions. It is
important that children accurately and efficiently solve
math problems in ways that make sense to them.
At home, encourage your child to explain his or her
math thinking to you. Please look for more information
and activities from Unit 3 that will be sent home in the
coming weeks.

UNIT 3 116 SESSION 1.1 © Pearson Education 3

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NAME DATE (PAGE 1 OF 2)

Related Activities to Try at Home

Dear Family,

The activities below are related to the mathematics

in this addition and subtraction unit. You can use the
activities to enrich your child’s mathematical learning
experience.

Collect 1,000 Together you and your child can

collect 1,000 of the same small objects to see what a
collection of exactly 1,000 objects (such as pebbles,
bread tabs, gallon milk lids, or popsicle sticks) looks
like. As you collect the objects, organize them in
groups of 10 and groups of 100 to help you keep
track of them. Before you begin, estimate how long
you think it will take to collect 1,000 objects and
how much space you think your objects will take
up. As your collection grows, you might adjust your
estimates on the basis of how long it has taken so far
or how much space several hundred take up.

What Time Is It? In this and other units, students

practice telling time during an activity called What
Time Is It? Students learn to tell time first to the
nearest 5 minutes (5:20) and then to the nearest
minute (5:28) on both digital and analog clocks. They
also identify intervals of time, such as the starting
and ending time of an activity.

UNIT 3 121 SESSION 1.2 © Pearson Education 3

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Related Activities to Try at Home

What Time Is It? (continued)
You can continue to help your child practice telling
time by asking questions, such as the following, as they
come up during your everyday activities:

Look at the clock. What time is it now?

We are going to have dinner in 45 minutes. What
time will it be then?
How many more minutes until Aunt Sara gets
here at 5:00?
We left the house at 8:10 and returned at 9:05.
How long were we gone?
If you started reading at 5:17 and read for
30 minutes, what time was it when you stopped?

UNIT 3 122 SESSION 1.2 © Pearson Education 3