Georgia 3.MP.1
The Standard
Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
Georgia's K-12 Mathematics Standards · Display perseverance and patience in problem-solving. Demonstrate skills and strategies needed to succeed in mathematics, including critical thinking, reasoning, and effective collaboration and expression. Seek help and apply feedback. Set and monitor goals.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students figure out what a problem is asking, identify useful information, and choose a way to begin. They keep working when a strategy fails, try another approach, and check their answer.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student identifies what is known, what must be found, and which information matters. The student uses a model or strategy, changes approach when stuck, and checks whether the result is reasonable.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may choose an operation from one keyword without considering the whole situation. They may stop after one attempt, overlook a needed step, or accept an answer that does not fit the context.
How to Assess It
- Give this exit ticket: “Lena has 24 stickers. She gives 7 away, then shares the rest equally between two friends. Can she do this fairly? Show how you know.”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs counters and a two-step sharing problem, then have them build, draw, and label a model before calculating.
Ask students to write about a time their first strategy failed and explain what they tried next.
Play Strategy Swap: students solve task cards, trade solutions, and name a different method that could work.
Plan a class snack purchase with a fixed budget, package prices, and quantities, then check whether the plan meets every condition.
Free download
Printable 3.MP.1 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 3.MP.1, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetKeep exploring
Related Standards
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.