3rd Grade Division Story Problems Worksheet: Cards, Cupcakes and Cows

Each story on this page asks the same question in a new setting: how many are in each group? This 3rd grade division story problems worksheet has three problems. Julia sorts 36 cards into 4 equal groups. Next, 72 cupcakes are shared among 9 people at a party. Finally, Mr. Adams spreads 56 cows across 7 pastures. Each problem leaves a large grid space for working, which gives room for a drawing as well as a bracket. Playing cards, a group of calves and a farmer in a hat decorate the page. Page two lists the facts, writes the division and shows it in a long division bracket.

Three facts in a story

The answers are 9 cards, 8 cupcakes and 8 cows. Each story hides a division fact from the times tables: 36 ÷ 4, 72 ÷ 9 and 56 ÷ 7. So the real work is reading the story and finding which number is shared and how many groups there are.

The title says long division, yet a child who knows the facts can solve each problem in one step. The long division method on page two is still a good model, because it shows the subtraction that leaves 0. Since no story has a remainder, each one is a division as sharing with a whole answer.

At the table: circle, then divide

Word problems get easier when the numbers are marked first. Ask your child to circle the total and underline the number of groups. In story 2, that means circling 72 cupcakes and underlining 9 people. After that, they write 72 ÷ 9 and find 8, because 9 × 8 = 72.

The wording has a few slips. Story 2 says "in a birthday party" instead of "at", and page two writes "Adam's ranch" for Mr. Adams. So read these lines aloud in the correct form. Finally, ask for a full answer sentence that repeats the unit, such as "Each pasture has 8 cows."

After the page: invent a story

Give your child a division fact, such as 24 ÷ 6. They invent a short story for it, maybe 24 stickers shared among 6 friends. Next, swap roles, so that you tell a story about sharing while your child writes the matching division sentence. In the end, compare the three answers with the answer key on page two.