🦘 Grade 3 · contest level 3–4
Math Kangaroo Grade 3: lessons, practice and tests
Everything to prepare a Grade 3 child for Math Kangaroo: a full lesson for every topic, with practice at three levels and a worksheet, free sample questions and timed practice tests scored on the page.
How the contest works
Math Kangaroo is an international maths competition held once a year. In many countries the Grade 3 paper is shared with Grade 4: 24 multiple-choice questions, each with five answers, in three sections worth 3, 4 and 5 points, usually in 75 minutes and without a calculator. The questions are short puzzles, often with a picture, so careful reading and clear thinking matter more than fast sums.
Rules such as timing, calculators and whether wrong answers lose points can differ from country to country, so always check with your local organiser.
Topics
A full lesson for every topic
Each lesson runs for about 60 minutes: an idea, worked examples, practice at three levels, three class activities, a contest-style quiz, homework and a printable worksheet.
Place value and digit puzzles
Say what each digit is worth in a 3- and 4-digit number. Make the biggest and smallest numbers from digit cards.
Free · 60-minute lesson with worksheetBalance scales and missing numbers
Find missing numbers with the opposite operation. Solve balance-scale puzzles by taking the same from both sides.
Free · 60-minute lesson with worksheetRepeating and growing patterns
Find the repeating block and use it to find any position. Find the rule of a growing number pattern.
⭐ Plus · 60-minute lesson with worksheetMagic squares and number grids
Find the magic sum by adding all the numbers first. Fill the missing numbers of a magic square.
⭐ Plus · 60-minute lesson with worksheetClocks, time and calendars
Read an analogue clock to the minute. Work out how long something lasts by counting on.
⭐ Plus · 60-minute lesson with worksheetCounting squares, triangles and shapes
Count all the squares in a grid size by size. Count rectangles and segments in a strip.
⭐ Plus · 60-minute lesson with worksheetOrdering and logic puzzles
Put people or things in order from clues. Test who is telling the truth by trying each possibility.
⭐ Plus · 60-minute lesson with worksheetLegs, heads and animals
Count legs of mixed animals. Solve heads-and-legs puzzles by pretending all are the same.
⭐ Plus · 60-minute lesson with worksheetQuiz · 5 questions
Try 5 sample questions
Pick an answer to see if it is right and why. Your best score is saved on this device.
Practice tests
Full papers, timed and scored
Sit a whole paper like the real day, then read the explanation for every question you missed.
Strategy
Six habits for the contest
Read it twice
Many questions hide one important word: not, only, at least, exactly. Underline it.
Draw it
A line for ordering, a table for who-has-what, a sketch for shapes. Pictures turn hard questions into easy ones.
Test the answers
There are only five choices. Put each one back into the question; the one that works is the answer.
Count by size
For squares, triangles and rectangles, count one size at a time and add, so the big shapes are not missed.
Keep moving
Answer the questions you can first, mark the hard ones and come back. The last questions are worth the most, so save time for them.
Know the rules
Check the organiser's rules for your country (time, calculators, whether a wrong answer loses points) before the contest day.
Read more
About the contest
FAQ
Math Kangaroo Grade 3: questions
What is Math Kangaroo?
An international maths competition held once a year in many countries. It uses short, picture-based puzzles that reward thinking more than speed of calculation.
What is on the Math Kangaroo Grade 3 paper?
In many countries Grades 3 and 4 sit the same paper: 24 multiple-choice questions with five answers each, in three sections worth 3, 4 and 5 points, in about 75 minutes and without a calculator. Rules differ by country, so check with your organiser.
Which topics should a Grade 3 child practise?
Digits and place value, missing numbers and balances, patterns, magic squares and pyramids, clocks and calendars, counting shapes, logic puzzles and word problems such as heads and legs. Each has a full lesson here.
How should my child prepare?
One topic lesson a week with its worksheet, then a timed practice test every few weeks, reviewing every wrong answer. Short daily puzzles help more than long cramming.
Are these real past papers?
No. Every question here is original and written in the style of the contest, so it can be shared and printed freely.
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