Third Grade Students

Most third grade students can do the following:

  1. The student reads for enjoyment and information, and:
    • pursues own reading interest.
    • has favorite authors and types of books.
    • reads primary-level fiction and nonfiction, including books with chapters.
    • reads a variety of texts, including books, magazines, newspapers, and textbooks in all content areas.
    • uses context clues to expand vocabulary.
  2. The student improves his or her comprehension while reading a variety of simple texts, and:
    • talks and writes about what he or she has read.
    • thinks about what he or she already knows and relates it to literature or personal experience.
    • makes, confirms, and revises predictions while reading.
    • re-reads to clarify meaning or correct a misinterpretation.
    • begins to make inferences.
    • retells story events in proper sequence.
  3. The student is a proficient reader who uses word-analysis skills to improve vocabulary and reading fluency, and:
    • uses phonics and simple context clues to figure out unknown words (sounds words out, breaks words into smaller parts, looks at prefixes and suffixes, looks at surrounding words).
    • learns to recognize letter/sound patterns as syllables.
    • reads aloud with rhythm and information that sounds like natural speech.
    • begins to correct own errors when reading aloud.
  4. The student understands elements of literature such as author, illustrator, character, plot, and setting, and:
    • draws conclusions about events, characters, and settings in stories.
    • compares settings, characters, and events in different books.
    • explains reasons for characters acting the way they do.
    • evaluates whether or not a plot is realistic.
    • recognizes that each piece of literature has a theme or main point.
  5. The student understands the characteristics of various simple genres ­ fables, nonfiction, poetry, and realistic, historical, and science fiction ­ and:
    • can explain the similarities and differences among the genres.
    • writes stories that contain characteristics of selected genres.
  6. The student uses appropriate language conventions in written work, and:
    • spells many common words correctly.
    • checks for common capitalization and end punctuation.
    • begins to note errors in own work.
    • writes legibly in print or cursive letters.
    • makes appropriate and varied word choices.
  7. The student writes to communicate information and ideas.
    • generates and organizes ideas for writing.
    • writes in a variety of modes (reports, poetry, letters, stories).
    • begins to format writing according to purpose and audience.
    • constructs several sentences on one topic in a logical order.
    • includes main ideas, supporting details, and descriptive words.
    • uses a variety of sentence structures.
    • edits to improve his or her own work.

A student who has successfully mastered these skills should be able to read and understand the following excerpts:

Third Grade:

Sarah, Plain and Tall, by Patricia MacLachlan

I held my breath and floated at last, looking up into the sky, afraid to speak. Crows flew over, three in a row. And I could hear a killdeer in the field. We climbed the bank and dried ourselves and lay in the grass again. The cows watched, their eyes sad in their dinner-plate faces. And I slept, dreaming a perfect dream. The fields had turned to a sea that gleamed like sun on glass. And Sarah was happy.

Books to read at this level:*

Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective, by Donald J. Sobol
The Fantastic Mr. Fox, by Roald Dahl
The Boxcar Children, by Gertrude Chandler Warner

*Books recommended by the American Library Association.