Math Skills Checklist 3rd-5th Grades

MATH SKILLS CHECKLIST
3RD - 5TH GRADES

by Virginia Knowles
from Common Sense Excellence


 Practice and review the skills listed above with increasing difficulty of problems.
 Recognize, read and write numerals to 999,999.
 Read and write word numbers (one hundred twenty-two thousand, four hundred)
 Write numbers with expanded notation (5,931 = 5,000+900+30+1)
 Read and write Roman numerals to 100 or higher.
 Create a simple graph or chart to express mathematical information.
 Do two and three digit addition and subtraction with regrouping (carrying or borrowing).
 Introduce decimals (tenths, hundredths) and show how to line up for addition.
 Round numbers to the nearest 10, 100 and 1000.
 Use estimation for arithmetic problems and know when this is appropriate.
 Memorize multiplication facts up to 12 X 12.
 Recognize whether a number up to 100 is a prime or composite.
 Learn multiplication terminology: multiplicand, multiplier, product, factor, multiple.
 Multiply two and three digit numbers with or without regrouping.
 Multiply by 10s, 100s, 1000s.
 Multiply numbers with decimals, and count digits to the right of the decimal points in the multiplicand and multiplier to determine the placement of the decimal in the final product.
 Find common multiples and lowest common multiple.
 Learn division terminology: dividend, divisor, quotient, remainder.
 Memorize division facts with quotients up to 100.
 Do long division with or without remainders.
 Know the fraction terms numerator and denominator.
 Reduce fractions to lowest terms (6/8 = 3/4).
 Compare fractions with like denominator.
 Find a common denominator for fractions.
 Add and subtract fractions.
 Multiply and divide fractions.
 Convert mixed numbers to improper fractions, and improper fractions to mixed numbers.
 Convert fractions to decimal numbers, and decimal numbers to fractions.
 Read and create simple graphs (pictograph, line graph, bar graph).
 Convert between units of length measurement (1 ft.=12 in., 1 m.=100 cm., etc.).
 Convert between units of weight measurement (1 lb.=16 oz., 1 g.=1000 mg., etc.)
 Convert between units of volume measurement (1 c.=8 oz., 1 l.=1000 ml., etc.)
 Tell time to the minute.
 Compute elapsed time (clock or calendar).
 Understand the concept of time zones and convert between them.
 Calculate perimeter of polygons.
 Calculate area of squares, rectangles and triangles.
 Identify lines of symmetry in a shape.
 Identify points, line segments, parallel lines, intersecting lines, perpendicular lines and rays.
 Identify the center, radius, and diameter of a circle.
 Solve for a variable (n+3=9, so n=6).

This list is from my book Common Sense Excellence: Faith-Filled Home Education for Preschool to 5th Grade.
You might also like to see: Math Skills Checklist from Preschool to 2nd Grade

Just a few others notes from my math chapter...



"I want my children to develop a sense of wonder as they explore math concepts, as well as lay a solid foundation for further study. Math may seem like such a neutral subject, but its fascinating principles reflect our Creator’s design. Math teaches us about equity, order, structure and absoluteness. Gaining excellence in this area enables us to be people of integrity and accuracy in a world where cheating and shortcuts are too easy. Children who have a hard time seeing the relevance of the worksheet in front of them may gain a new appreciation and motivation for math if they see that these skills are vital for hobbies, cooking, travel, personal safety, business transactions, and career success. In the elementary grades, I want my children to understand concepts and memorize facts. These essential and complementary facets of math education should not be pitted against one another, but used to balance and enhance each other. Demonstration and drill are both important. Sequence and structure are not as romantic as pure “discovery math” but they become more and more crucial as students advance past the primary grades. Hands-on discovery math is still very important as it supplements your math program."

Thanks for stopping by! You most likely found me on a web search for math skills, but while you're here, let me invite you to pop on over to my main blog, Virginia's Life, Such As It Is or my middle school blog.


May God bless you richly as you learn to COUNT on him today! His VALUE is immeasurable, and he MULTIPLIES blessings! (Sorry, couldn't resist the puns!)

Taking Math on the Road

I am ecstatic about my newest resource, Taking Math on the Road! It is the first, of what I hope will be many, activity folders in my new Do, Learn, & Remember series. As children create an activity folder, they pull math off flat paper and apply concepts—numeration, graphing, measurement, computation, money, estimation, and more— to life experiences.

This series was conceived as I answered questions from parents: "How do you teach math?" or "Do you have a template for that activity?" The Taking Math on the Road CD contains instructions and templates for the games we play in our home to learn math. The CD can be purchased at my website and inserted in the CD drive of your computer. Print the pages you need and begin a thematic math adventure.

Want to know more? I am posting the introduction to Taking Math on the Road here so you can become more acquainted with the ideas behind the Do, Learn, & Remember series.

"The contents of this activity folder are intentionally written to help you teach your child math concepts. Working through this seven day study, your child will create a folder packed with high-interest activities. Unlike worksheets which teach math on a one-dimensional surface, Do, Learn, & Remember actively involves your child. The games are intended to provide stand-alone math instruction but can be easily adapted or incorporated into existing home studies.

Do, Learn, & Remember encourages mastery through repetition, an essential element for teaching math concepts. The completed folder’s compact, pocket-design keeps supplies and pieces safely inside and invites your child to carry learning through the day, playing and practicing again and again. This study is not a once-and-done-creation.

Do, Learn, & Remember activities offer flexibility. The unit was written for varied developmental stages and educational philosophies. Simply choose appropriate activities from the selections provided. Feel free to shorten, lengthen, substitute, or omit activities to accommodate your child’s learning needs. Web resources (marked with a computer symbol) and book suggestions are included for extended study. It is even possible to use the games and resources without constructing the activity folder.

Each lesson includes practical application experiences and related book titles (a library visit enhances study, but is not required) in an effort to make learning relevant to life. Additional supplemental activities and templates are available on this CD. Create, teach, and learn by the means which best encourage learning in your home.

Taking Math on the Road was tested in our home. If it didn’t work, I didn’t include it. In fact, only activities which earned a “Dad, look what we did!” made their way into this unit. Most of the activities were completed at multiple levels (ages 4-8) and some were selected as review activities for children who needed extra practice. Generally, we all played together. Our activity folder and the memories we made creating it, are treasured. We hope yours will be, too!"

Math concepts taught and reinforced in Taking Math on the Road:

• Shape and color recognition
• Counting to 100 by twos, fives, and tens
• Greater than and less than to 100
• Ordering numbers 1-100
• Ordering numbers 100-1000
• Graphing and tallying
• Comparison
• Addition facts and their corresponding subtraction facts (addends 0-6, sums less than 12)
• Foundational fraction concepts

Content area skills integrated and applied to life skills:

• Roman roads
• Road construction
• Shapes, colors, and meanings of common road signs
• History and significance of traffic signals
• Inventors who contributed to automotive history
• Car manufacturing
• Auto mechanics
• Buses
• Drawing vehicles

Bonus! activities and templates for Place Value Pasta, Add the Wheels, Traffic Sign Criss-Cross, and Roman Road Dessert.