3rd Grade One-Step Multiplication Stories Worksheet: 3 Problems

Each story asks for one step only. Before writing any numbers, your child looks for two things: how many groups there are, and how many sit in each group. In the first story there are 8 measures, and each one holds 32 grams. So the calculation is 32 × 8.

The words "three times" in the second story are a strong clue. They tell your child to multiply 50 by 3, not to add 3. The last story gives the price of one ball. Therefore the cost of 24 balls is 24 × 5.

Page two sets each problem in column multiplication. This is how to multiply by a 1-digit number when the top number has two digits. Your child writes 32 on top and 8 below it, lined up with the ones. First, 8 × 2 = 16, so 6 goes down and 1 ten is carried. Then 8 × 3 tens = 24 tens, and with the carried ten that makes 25 tens, so the product is 256.

The other two problems are kinder. 50 × 3 is 5 tens times 3, or 150. 24 × 5 can be checked as half of 24 × 10, which is 120. All three answers go past 100, a little beyond the third grade goal, so give full credit for a sound method.

A number alone does not answer a story. Your child should finish each problem with a full sentence and its unit: 256 grams of sugar, 150 miles, 120 dollars. Then invent a new story at home, using a recipe, a car trip or a shopping list, and swap roles so that you solve and your child checks. Compare every result with the answer key on page two.