Help students to experience math concepts through their senses as they move and handle objects such as dice, cards, beads or buttons that represent equations or number sentences. If you are teaching 3+5, have students to count out three beads and add five beads to find that the answer is 8. Then have the students write the number sentence 3+5=8.
Play online games.Third-graders can practice math facts in online games and other activities. Online sites offer grade-appropriate activities in all areas of math, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and geometry.
Use an inquiry approach, letting the student ask questions about a math operation before solving the problem. For example, a student can ask herself, "What will happen if I take 14 away from 33?" The student guesses, using estimation (30-10, for example), then solves the problem using longhand subtraction.
Use hands-on activities so that students can experience real world mathematics. If a student is learning about money, let him use real money to solve number problems. Have students purchase items and figure out the change that they should receive.