i-Ready Classroom Mathematics Grade 3, Unit 2: Multiplication and Division Strategies
In this unit, your child builds strategies for every multiplication and division fact to 10 × 10. They break hard facts into easier ones, use multiplication to divide, find missing numbers, and multiply by multiples of 10. Two-step story problems put it together. Next, addition, subtraction, and place value with numbers up to 1,000 return.
By Robert “Bobby” BarnettMath teacher, parent, and founder of Bobby’s Math Club
What is my child learning in Unit 2?
- Solving story problems with any facts to 10 × 10, such as 48 muffins in 6 trays, and writing an equation to match. Learn more: Multiplying and dividing in story problems
- Finding the unknown in equations like 6 × ? = 48 or 40 = ? × 5, using fact families. Learn more: Finding the missing number, like 7 x ? = 56
- Breaking apart a factor, so 6 × 8 becomes 5 × 8 plus 1 × 8, which is 40 + 8 = 48. Learn more: Shortcuts that make times tables easier
- Turning 36 ÷ 9 into a times question, 9 times what is 36, to find the quotient of 4. Learn more: Using times tables to divide
- Practicing the 6s, 7s, 8s, and 9s until products and quotients come without counting. Learn more about knowing the times tables by heart: Knowing the times tables by heart · Learn more about dividing within 100
- Solving two-step problems that mix operations, like 4 packs of 6 juice boxes with 5 drunk, and checking with estimates. Learn more: Story problems with two steps
- Multiplying by tens, like 7 × 40 = 280, using place value: 7 groups of 4 tens is 28 tens. Learn more: Multiplying by tens, like 4 x 70
Sample questions to try together
These are real questions from our practice. Tap the speaker to hear one read aloud, or the light bulb for a hint, and talk about the answer together.
Question 1 of 3
Ravi finds 16 socks in the laundry. He puts them into pairs, with 2 socks in each pair. How many pairs does he make?
- 8
- 32
- 14
How you can help
- Ask your child how a fact they know, like 5 × 8 = 40, helps with 6 × 8, while you wait at the store.
- Use dimes to show 7 × 40 cents as 7 piles of 4 dimes, which is 28 dimes, or 280 cents.
- Give your child three numbers, like 6, 8, and 48, and ask for all four facts in the family during a ride.
Where kids can get stuck
- Splitting a factor into pieces but multiplying only one of them, so 6 × 8 comes out as 40 + 1 = 41.
- Recalling the wrong fact for a division, such as answering 36 ÷ 9 with 3, without checking 3 × 9.
- Writing 7 × 40 = 28, using the fact but forgetting the tens.
Practice makes perfect
Bobby's Math Club has practice problems that adapt to your child’s level, each with a detailed explanation and an easy-to-follow video, so your child can build confidence in these skills one step at a time.
Words your child will hear
- factor
- A number being multiplied.
- product
- The total you get by multiplying, like 12 in 3 × 4 = 12.
- quotient
- The number you get when you divide, like 5 in 20 ÷ 4 = 5.
- unknown
- A missing number in a problem that we need to work out.
- distributive property
- You can break a factor into parts, multiply each part, and add the products.
- fact family
- Four facts made from three numbers, like 3 × 6 = 18 and 18 ÷ 6 = 3.
- multiple of 10
- A number like 20, 50, or 90 that is made of tens and no ones.
- two-step problem
- A story problem you solve in two parts, one after the other.
- inverse
- Operations that undo each other, like multiplication and division.
Want to help your child master multiplication and division strategies?
In Bobby's Math Club, your child practices these skills at just the right level, with a hint when they need one, a clear explanation after every question, and kid-friendly videos. Unlimited practice is free.
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Written by Robert “Bobby” Barnett
Bobby is an award-winning math teacher, the author of Meet Every Learner’s Needs, and the father of two elementary-school math learners. He uses Bobby’s Math Club with his own kids a few times every week. Learn more or contact Bobby.
Which math standards does i-Ready Classroom Mathematics Grade 3 Unit 2 cover?
i-Ready Classroom Mathematics Grade 3 Unit 2 covers these math standards. Each one links to what it means, sample questions, and teaching strategies.
- 3.OA.A.3: Use multiplication and division within 100 to solve word problems.
- 3.OA.A.4: Find the missing number, like 7 × ? = 56 or ? ÷ 3 = 6.
- 3.OA.B.5: Break numbers apart to multiply, like 4 × 7 = (4 × 5) + (4 × 2).
- 3.OA.B.6: Use a times fact to divide: 32 ÷ 8 = 4 because 4 × 8 = 32.
- 3.OA.C.7: Know the times tables by heart, and divide within 100.
- 3.OA.D.8: Solve two-step word problems: add, subtract, multiply, or divide.
- 3.NBT.A.3: Multiply by multiples of 10, like 4 × 70 = 280.
For teachers: Unit names and order vary between editions and districts, so your school’s own materials have the exact sequence. Learn how Bobby's Math Club can help your students grow.