i-Ready Classroom Mathematics Grade 3, Unit 6: Geometry Time and Measurement Data
In this unit, the year closes with shapes, time, and measuring. Your child sorts quadrilaterals by attributes, tells time to the minute, finds elapsed time, measures mass and liquid volume, and shows data on scaled graphs and line plots. Fractions from the last unit return when they measure lengths to the nearest half or quarter inch.
By Robert “Bobby” BarnettMath teacher, parent, and founder of Bobby’s Math Club
What is my child learning in Unit 6?
- Solving elapsed-time problems, such as a game starting at 4:50 and lasting 35 minutes, by counting on in parts. Learn more about telling time to the minute: Telling time to the minute · Learn more about working out how many minutes have passed
- Estimating and comparing mass in grams and kilograms and liquid volume in liters with scales and measuring containers. Learn more: Weighing things and measuring liquids
- Making scaled bar graphs and picture graphs from survey data, and solving one- and two-step how-many questions. Learn more: Reading picture graphs and bar graphs
- Recording lengths measured to the nearest quarter inch on a line plot, then describing what the plot shows. Learn more: Measuring to the nearest quarter inch
- Naming a shape by more than one name, such as a square being a rectangle, a rhombus, and a quadrilateral. Learn more: Sorting four-sided shapes into families
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
The school play starts 20 minutes after the time shown on the clock. What time does the school play begin?
- 6:25 p.m.
- 7:05 p.m.
- 7:00 p.m.
How you can help
- Ask your child what time dinner or a show will end if it starts at 6:40 and lasts 35 minutes (7:15).
- Run a quick family survey, such as favorite fruit, and ask your child to draw a bar graph that counts by 2s.
- Hunt for four-sided shapes on a walk, such as a door or a sign, and ask your child how many different names each one could have.
Where kids can get stuck
- Writing 4:85 for 35 minutes after 4:50, forgetting that a new hour starts after 60 minutes.
- Picking grams when kilograms fit better, saying a backpack weighs about 3 grams.
- Leaving a kite or a lopsided four-sided shape out of the quadrilateral group because it is not a rectangle.
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
- elapsed time
- The amount of time between a start time and an end time.
- mass
- How much matter is in an object, measured in grams or kilograms.
- liquid volume
- How much liquid a container holds.
- gram
- A unit for light things; a paper clip has a mass of about 1 gram.
- kilogram
- 1,000 grams; a full 1-liter water bottle is about 1 kilogram.
- liter
- A unit for measuring how much liquid fits in a container.
- scale
- The numbers along a graph's side, often counting by 2s, 5s, or 10s.
- line plot
- A graph that shows data with X marks above a number line.
- quadrilateral
- Any closed shape with 4 straight sides.
Want to help your child master time, data, and shapes?
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.
Join the club
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 6 cover?
i-Ready Classroom Mathematics Grade 3 Unit 6 covers these math standards. Each one links to what it means, sample questions, and teaching strategies.
- 3.MD.A.1: Tell time to the minute, and work out how many minutes have passed.
- 3.MD.A.2: Estimate and measure in grams, kilograms, and liters.
- 3.MD.B.3: Read bar graphs and picture graphs to answer "how many more?"
- 3.MD.B.4: Measure to the nearest 1/2 or 1/4 inch, and show it on a line plot.
- 3.G.A.1: Sort shapes into groups, like quadrilaterals (four-sided shapes).
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.