Maths in Year 3: what Lärkompis practises
In Year 3 of Swedish school (around age 9), Lärkompis practises 16 skills in maths, linked to 12 of 22 items in the core content of Lgr22, the Swedish national curriculum, for Years 1–3. The areas are algebra; geometry; problem solving; probability and statistics; and understanding and using numbers. Each skill has five difficulty levels, and the skills are practised in 8 mini-games, including Rätta roboten (Fix the Robot), Klockverkstan (The Clock Workshop) and Kunskapsjakten (Knowledge Hunt).
Lgr22 sets out core content for each stage (Years 1–3), not for each year. So Lärkompis spreads the skills across the years using its own time windows, and these are estimates. For Year 3, this means that 11 skills start this year and 5 skills started earlier and are still being practised. The figure 12 of 22 counts the items in the core content from Skolverket (the Swedish National Agency for Education) that at least one skill links to; it does not mean the whole item is covered.
What Lärkompis practises in Year 3
The 16 skills in maths in Year 3 are grouped into 5 areas following Skolverket's syllabus. Under each skill you can see the first and the last difficulty level, so you know how far the exercises go.
Algebra
- Step-by-step instructions and simple programming on a grid (already starts in Year 2) Level 1: Two cards: move and turn on a small grid. Level 5: Four cards with several stones to get past.
Geometry
- Telling the time: quarters and minutes (already starts in Year 2) Level 1: Minutes at quarter past, half past and quarter to. Level 5: Five minutes at a time, all the way round, “fem över halv” (twenty-five to).
- Scale in simple reductions and enlargements Level 1: Choose the rectangle that is twice as big. Level 5: Scale on a drawing: one square is several metres.
- Differences in time Level 1: Whole hours. Level 5: Across the hour, up to an hour and a half.
Problem solving
- Solving problems with logical reasoning and a table (already starts in Year 2) Level 1: One clue that says who has what. Level 5: Three people and several clues.
- Asking and understanding maths questions in everyday life (already starts in Year 2) Level 1: What is the task asking for? Three choices. Level 5: Which question can be answered, with multiplication and division.
- Strategies: choosing the operation and working in several steps Level 1: Plus or minus, three choices. Level 5: Two-step problems.
Probability and statistics
- Chance events Level 1: Certain, possible or impossible with a few marbles. Level 5: Certain, possible or impossible with a dice.
Understanding and using numbers
- Fractions as part of a whole Level 1: A half, seeing how much is coloured. Level 5: Fractions of a quantity: four fifths of 30.
- Division: sharing equally and making groups Level 1: Share 4 cars between 2 friends. Level 5: Mixed word problems with sharing and grouping.
- Checking whether estimates and calculations are reasonable Level 1: Approximate answer, three choices. Level 5: Mixed, and fixing the robot’s mistakes.
- Written addition (column method) Level 1: Column method without carrying, 31 + 6. Level 5: Three digits with carrying, and word problems.
- Written subtraction (column method) Level 1: No exchanging, 45 − 5. Level 5: Three digits, and word problems with differences.
- The 2, 5 and 10 times tables (already starts in Year 2) Level 1: Counting in fives: 5, 10, 15. Level 5: Mixed, with word problems and a missing factor.
- The 3 and 4 times tables Level 1: Counting in fours: 4, 8, 12, 16. Level 5: Mixed, with word problems and a missing factor.
- Number symbols in different cultures: Roman numerals Level 1: Reading Roman numerals up to 20. Level 5: Mixed, and fixing the robot’s mistakes.
What the syllabus says, in short
The Lgr22 core content for Years 1–3 in maths, summarised in our own words for the parts Lärkompis practises in Year 3. Read the full text in Skolverket's English translation of Lgr22.
- Your child meets fractions as part of a whole and part of a group, for example a half and a quarter.
- The four operations and how they are connected, using mental arithmetic, rough estimates and written calculations. Digital tools may be used for calculations.
- Measuring length, mass, volume and time, geometric shapes and symmetry.
- Strategies for solving problems in everyday situations, and being able to ask mathematical questions about everyday life.
- Simple tables and charts, and describing events that happen by chance.
How to help at home with maths in Year 3
Year 3 is the last year of the first stage (Years 1–3). Schools use national tests in maths and Swedish in Year 3 to support the assessment against the criteria, and no grades are given. Before the tests, sleep, breakfast and a calm tone help more than extra drilling. Ask “how did you work it out?” more often than “what did you get?”, and use the same models and written methods as the teacher, so your child does not have two different methods to keep track of.
- Shop at home. Make a little shop from tins and toys, with price tags from 1 to 20 kronor. Your child shops with real coins and you give change. Ask how they know they have enough money. Use the same number pictures and ways of setting out sums that the teacher uses. Works in everyday life: about 10 minutes.
- Split numbers with buttons. Put 8 buttons on the table and split them into two piles in as many ways as you can. You could write 8 = 3 + 5 next to them. This builds a feel for how numbers can be split up, which helps with both adding and taking away. As a game: about 10 minutes.
- What does the equals sign mean? Write 3 + 4 = ? + 5 and ask what should go in the box. Explain that the equals sign means “the same amount on both sides”, like a balanced scale. Ask how your child is thinking, not just what the answer is. As a conversation: about 5 minutes.
- When maths homework takes too long. Set a timer for 10 minutes. If the homework isn’t finished, let your child show where they got stuck and write a line to the teacher (“the homework took 25 minutes, we stopped at question 4”). That is information for the school, not a failure. When it is hard going: about 10 minutes.
How you can tell it has clicked in Year 3
- Chance events: Your child explains why something is impossible.
- Fractions as part of a whole: Your child says that a half is one of two equal parts.
- Division: sharing equally and making groups: Your child hands out one at a time until there are none left.
- Checking whether estimates and calculations are reasonable: Your child says that 15 metres is unreasonable for a pencil.
Common pitfalls in Year 3
- Checking whether estimates and calculations are reasonable: Thinks a long calculation always gives a big answer.
- Written addition (column method): Forgets to carry (29 + 68 becomes 87).
- Written subtraction (column method): Always takes the smaller digit from the bigger one in each column (52 − 38 becomes 26).
- The 3 and 4 times tables: Only knows the table in order, not when the questions “jump around”.
If maths practice in Year 3 often ends in tears or takes far too long, stop for the day and write a few lines to the teacher about what was hard. That is useful information for the school, not a failure.
Games that practise it
In Year 3 maths, Lärkompis uses 8 mini-games. In these games, playing is the practice, so your child learns while they play. There are no points or streaks, and no ads.
Rätta roboten (Fix the Robot)
Knut has made a mistake and your child teaches him the right way. Explaining the mistake is the skill. In Year 3, the game practises 9 skills: asking and understanding maths questions in everyday life; strategies: choosing the operation and working in several steps; fractions as part of a whole; division: sharing equally and making groups; and more.
Klockverkstan (The Clock Workshop)
Clocks on the workshop wall that your child sets and reads. In Year 3, the game practises 2 skills: telling the time: quarters and minutes; and differences in time.
Kunskapsjakten (Knowledge Hunt)
A quiz show in a TV studio, where Vera leads the questions up a ladder. There are lifelines but no points: the ladder fills up with the questions your child has worked through. In Year 3, the game practises 2 skills: scale in simple reductions and enlargements; and number symbols in different cultures: Roman numerals.
Vändspelet (The Flip Game)
A memory game where two cards that go together stay face up, for example 3 + 4 and 7. In Year 3, the game practises 2 skills: the 2, 5 and 10 times tables; and the 3 and 4 times tables.
Bråkpizzan (Fraction Pizza)
A pizza is cut into slices and the slices are the fractions: your child cuts, compares and adds them up. In Year 3, the game practises 1 skill: fractions as part of a whole.
Detektiven (The Detective)
A short logic case each round: your child reads the clues, fills in a grid with crosses and ticks, and points out the answer. In Year 3, the game practises 1 skill: solving problems with logical reasoning and a table.
Kodaren (The Coder)
Knut the robot wants to reach the star, and your child builds the program from big cards. In Year 3, the game practises 1 skill: step-by-step instructions and simple programming on a grid.
Sorteringsbandet (The Sorting Belt)
A calm conveyor belt of things that your child puts in the right box by following a rule. In Year 3, the game practises 1 skill: the 2, 5 and 10 times tables.
Questions about maths in Year 3
What does Lärkompis practise in maths in Year 3?
Lärkompis has 16 skills in maths in Year 3, for example “Step-by-step instructions and simple programming on a grid”; “Telling the time: quarters and minutes”; “Scale in simple reductions and enlargements”; “Differences in time”; and “Solving problems with logical reasoning and a table”. Each skill has five levels. In “Step-by-step instructions and simple programming on a grid”, for example, level 1 is “Two cards: move and turn on a small grid” and level 5 is “Four cards with several stones to get past”. The app adjusts the level to how your child is doing.
What is expected in maths in Year 3 by the end of the year?
Skolverket's criteria at the end of Year 3 say, in plain words: your child can use mathematical concepts with satisfactory confidence, describe how numbers relate to each other, split up numbers and wholes, and work out simple calculations in a way that works. Lärkompis does not replace the teacher's assessment, but it shows you which skills your child is practising in Year 3.
Which mistakes are common in maths in Year 3?
Common mistakes that Lärkompis covers include “Thinks a long calculation always gives a big answer” in “Checking whether estimates and calculations are reasonable” and “Forgets to carry (29 + 68 becomes 87)” in “Written addition (column method)”. When an answer is wrong, the app shows how to think it through instead of just marking it wrong, and the parent panel shows what your child is practising right now.
Does Lärkompis follow Lgr22 in maths in Year 3?
Yes. Every exercise in maths in Year 3 is linked to an item in the Lgr22 core content for Years 1–3; 12 of 22 items in maths have at least one linked skill. Lärkompis is a complement at home and does not replace teaching.
How much does it cost to practise maths in Year 3 with Lärkompis?
Lärkompis costs SEK 49, once, for all subjects and every child in the family, with future updates included. You can try maths in Year 3 for free first, without an account.
More years and subjects
The same year in other subjects:
