3rd Grade Quarters Quizzes

By third grade, students should be fluent in counting mixed coin collections. The new focus is on more complex applications like making change and solving multi-step word problems that involve money.

The "counting up" method is a powerful strategy. If an item costs 65 cents and is paid for with a dollar, the student starts at 65¢ and counts up to 100¢. For example: add a dime to get to 75¢, then add a quarter to get to $1.00. The change is the dime and the quarter, or 35¢.

Third graders are ready for two-step problems. For instance: "You buy a sticker for 45 cents and a candy for 30 cents. If you pay with a dollar, how much change do you get back?" This requires students to first add the costs and then subtract from the total amount paid.

Many students find the concept of "counting up" to make change counterintuitive and may try to use a standard subtraction algorithm, which can be difficult and error-prone. For multi-step problems, students often solve the first step correctly but forget to complete the second part of the problem.

These quizzes are available as printable PDFs for offline practice or as interactive digital assignments on Wayground. Both formats include a complete answer key, which supports efficient self-assessment by students or quick grading by teachers.

For students needing support, use Wayground's Read Aloud feature for word problems or provide real coins and a number line as visual aids. To challenge advanced learners, ask them to find multiple ways to make the correct change or to find the solution using the fewest possible coins.

While the Common Core's explicit money standards are typically met by Grade 2, making change is a vital real-world application of Grade 3's major focus on multi-digit subtraction and two-step problem-solving. It provides a concrete and motivating context for these abstract mathematical skills.