Pacing Guide for 3rd Grade Math

The third-grade math curriculum was designed to be implemented over the course of a single school year. It includes seven units of study over 145 instructional days (including days for lessons, flex days, and unit assessments). We intentionally did not account for all 180 instructional days in order for teachers to fit in additional review or extension, teacher-created assessments, and school-based events.

Each unit includes a specific number of lessons, a day for assessment, and a recommended number of flex days (see the table below). These flex days can be used at the teacher’s discretion; however, for units that include both major and supporting/additional work, it is strongly recommended that the flex days be spent on content that aligns with the major work of the grade.

Each lesson was designed to be implemented within, approximately, a 50-minute class period. A suggested break down of a typical class period is shown below; however, this time allotment will vary depending on the lesson and lesson structure chosen by the teacher.

• 25–30 minutes: Anchor Tasks
• 15–20 minutes: Problem Set
• 5–10 minutes: Target Task

In addition to the main lessons, it is recommended to also allocate 10 minutes for daily application and 15 minutes for daily fluency. These additional blocks are meant to provide sufficient time and practice for these aspects of rigor.