ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS

GRADE 3

CCR ANCHOR STANDARD

College and Career Readiness
Anchor Standards for Reading

CCSS STANDARD
Reading Literature

UNPACKING

Key Ideas and Details

1. Ask and answer questions to
Third grade students continue asking and answering
demonstrate understanding of a text, questions to show they understand a text, and they are
referring explicitly to the text as the required to refer to the text to support their answers.
basis for the answers.
The genre of myths is added at this level and students
are asked to both retell and explain how key details
communicate the message. They must be more specific
in telling about characters, concentrating on their traits,
2. Determine central ideas or themes 2. Recount stories, including fables, motivations, or feelings. The focus is on how
characters influence plot development.
of a text and analyze their
folktales, and myths from diverse
development; summarize the key
cultures; determine the central
Use questions and prompts such as:
supporting details and ideas.
message, lesson, or moral and
explain how it is conveyed through
Who are the characters in this story?
key details in the text.
What are the most important events that happened in
3. Analyze how and why individuals, 3. Describe characters in a story
the story? What in the text leads you to that answer?
events, and ideas develop and
(e.g., their traits, motivations, or
What lesson is this story teaching you?
interact over the course of a text.
feelings) and explain how their
How does the author convey the central lesson,
actions contribute to the sequence of
message or moral of the story?
events.
Where did the story take place? How do you know?
Can you tell me how the character is feeling in this
part of the story?
Can you find the reasons why the character acted
this way?
How does this character affect what happens in the
beginning or at the end of the story?
1. Read closely to determine what
the text says explicitly and to
make logical inferences from it;
cite specific textual evidence when
writing or speaking to support
conclusions drawn from the text.

CCR Anchor Standard

College and Career Readiness Anchor
Standards for Reading
4. Interpret words and phrases as they are
used in a text, including determining
technical, connotative, and figurative
meanings, and analyze how specific word
choices shape meaning or tone.
5. Analyze the structure of texts, including
how specific sentences, paragraphs, and
larger portions of the text (e.g., a section,
chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each
other and the whole.
6. Assess how point of view or purpose
shapes the content and style of a text.

CCSS Standard
Reading Literature
Craft and Structure
4. Determine the meaning of words and
phrases as they are used in a text,
distinguishing literal from nonliteral
language.
5. Refer to parts of stories, dramas, and
poems when writing or speaking about a
text, using terms such as chapter, scene,
and stanza; describe how each successive
part builds on earlier sections.
6. Distinguish their own point of view
from that of the narrator or those of the
characters.

Unpacking

Third grade students are required to tell

the meaning of words and phrases in a
text, noting the differences between literal
and nonliteral language. They continue to
build on story structure when writing or
speaking by describing how various parts
build on one another not only in stories,
but in dramas and poems. At this level,
students are required not only to establish
the point of view but tell how their own
point of view is different from the
narrators or the characters.
Use questions and prompts such as:
What do you do when you come to
words you do not know? (use context)
Why did the author choose this word?
Does this word have other meanings
than the way the author used it?
Can you tell me what the parts of this
story are called (chapters, stanzas,
scenes) and how they are connected or
organized (time order, topic)?
Think about what you read. Do you
agree with the way the characters are
thinking in this story? Do you agree
with the way the narrator is thinking in

CCR Anchor Standard

College and Career Readiness Anchor
Standards for Reading
7. Integrate and evaluate content
presented
in diverse media and formats, including
visually and quantitatively, as well as
in words.
8. Delineate and evaluate the argument
and specific claims in a text, including the
validity of the reasoning as well as the
relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
9. Analyze how two or more texts address
similar themes or topics in order to build
knowledge or to compare the approaches
the authors take.

CCSS Standard
Reading Literature
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
7. Explain how specific aspects of a texts
illustrations contribute to what is
conveyed by the words in a story
(e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects
of a character or setting).
8. (Not applicable to literature)

9. Compare and contrast the themes,

settings, and plots of stories written by the
same author about the same or similar
characters (e.g., in books from a series).

Unpacking

Third grade students must integrate

pictures and written text to better
understand different aspects of a story
such as the mood, setting, and the
characters. Students are required to find
similarities and differences in books with
the same author and characters.
Use questions and prompts such as:
What do the illustrations tell you
about the mood of this book? Can you
find where the mood is described in
the story? How do the pictures help
you understand the description of the
mood?
Look at these two books in the same
series. What is the same about the
setting in the two stories? What is
different?
How did these specific characters
solve the problem in different ways
across this series of stories?
How are the problems these
specific characters face similar

CCR Anchor Standard

CCSS Standard
Unpacking
College and Career Readiness Anchor
Reading Literature
Standards for Reading
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
10. Read and comprehend complex literary 10. By the end of the year, read and
Third grade students are capable of
and informational texts independently
comprehend literature, including stories,
reading and understanding a variety of
and proficiently.
dramas, and poetry, at the high end of
literature at the higher end of grades 2 and
the grades 23 text complexity band
3 instructional reading level
independently and proficiently.
independently.
The Reading standards place equal
emphasis on the sophistication of what
students read and the skill with which they
read. Standard 10 defines a grade-bygrade staircase of increasing text
complexity that rises from beginning
reading to the college and career readiness
level. Whatever they are reading, students
must also show a steadily growing ability
to discern more from, and make fuller use
of text including making an increasing
number of connections among ideas and
between texts, considering a wider range
of textual evidence, and becoming more
sensitive to inconsistencies, ambiguities,
and poor reasoning in texts.
Students also acquire the habits of
reading independently and closely,
which are essential to their future
success.

Students should encounter appropriately

complex texts at each grade level in order
to develop the mature language skills and
the conceptual knowledge needed for
success in school and life.
Effective scaffolding should allow the
reader to encounter the text with minimal
clarifications. It should not replace the text
by translating its contents for students.

CCR Anchor Standard

College and Career Readiness Anchor
Standards for Reading
1. Read closely to determine what the text
says explicitly and to make logical
inferences from it; cite specific textual
evidence when writing or speaking to
support conclusions drawn from the text.
2. Determine central ideas or themes of a
text and analyze their development;
summarize the key supporting details and
ideas.
3. Analyze how and why individuals,
events, and ideas develop and interact over
the course of a text.

CCSS Standard
Reading Informational Text
Key Ideas and Details
1. Ask and answer questions to
demonstrate understanding of a text,
referring explicitly to the text as the basis
for the answers.
2. Determine the main idea of a text;
recount the key details and explain how
they support the main idea.
3. Describe the relationship between a
series of historical events, scientific ideas
or concepts, or steps in technical
procedures in a text, using language that
pertains to time, sequence, and
cause/effect.

Unpacking

Third grade students are required to refer

to the text to support their answers.
Students must identify the main idea and
find the most important details that
strengthen the main idea. At this level,
students tell how historical events,
scientific ideas or how to procedures are
related in a text by analyzing the sequence
of events and the cause and effect.
Use questions and prompts such as:
Think about what you read and create
your own questions (refer to the text)
about an important idea.
What is the main idea of this text? What
in the text leads you to that answer?
What are the important ideas in this
text? How do you know?
How are the important ideas connected
to the main idea?
Which step comes first? After that?
What happened first? What happened
after that?
Can you tell me how these ideas are the
same? Can you tell me how they are
different?

CCR Anchor Standard

College and Career Readiness Anchor
Standards for Reading
4. Interpret words and phrases as they are
used in a text, including determining
technical, connotative, and figurative
meanings, and analyze how specific
word choices shape meaning or tone.
5. Analyze the structure of texts, including
how specific sentences, paragraphs, and
larger portions of the text (e.g., a section,
chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each
other and the whole.
6. Assess how point of view or purpose
shapes the content and style of a text.

CCSS Standard
Reading Informational Text
Craft and Structure
4. Determine the meaning of general
academic and domain-specific words and
phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3
topic or subject area.
5. Use text features and search tools (e.g.,
key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate
information relevant to a given topic
efficiently.
6. Distinguish their own point of view
from that of the author of a text.

Unpacking

Third grade students continue to find the

meanings of general vocabulary words
specific to third grade topics or subjects.
Students will continue to use the unique
features and organization of informational
text (text features and search tools) to find
and manage information specific to the
topic. Students in grade 3 must be able to
compare their point of view with the
authors point of view.
Use questions and prompts such as:
What do you do when you come to
words you do not know? (glossary, use
context)
What features in the text help you
find important information about what
you are reading?
How do the key words help you as
you read this text?
How do sidebars help you?
What does the author want the reader
to understand about this topic?
Think about what the author is
telling you in this text. Do you agree

CCR Anchor Standard

College and Career Readiness Anchor
Standards for Reading
7. Integrate and evaluate content
presented
in diverse media and formats, including
visually and quantitatively, as well as
in words.
8. Delineate and evaluate the argument
and specific claims in a text, including the
validity of the reasoning as well as the
relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
9. Analyze how two or more texts address
similar themes or topics in order to build
knowledge or to compare the approaches
the authors take.

CCSS Standard
Reading Informational Text
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
7. Use information gained from
illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and
the words in a text to demonstrate
understanding of the text (e.g., where,
when, why, and how key events occur).
8. Describe the logical connection
between particular sentences and
paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison,
cause/effect, first/second/third in a
sequence).
9. Compare and contrast the most
important points and key details presented
in two texts on the same topic.

Unpacking

Third grade students must use various

media (maps, diagrams, photos, audios) to
understand specific information in the
text. Third graders are required to make a
clear link between sentences and
paragraphs when reading informational
text. At this level, students are asked to
find similarities and differences about
important details when reading about two
texts that share the same topic
Use questions and prompts such as:
How does the diagram/image help
you understand what you are reading?
Read these two paragraphs. Can you
tell how the ideas in the two
paragraphs are connected? (time order,
comparison of events/ideas,
cause/effect)
Can you find the part of the text that
comes after this part? Can you find the
next step/event/idea? What particular
words or sentences help you know
what comes next?
What is similar about what is
presented in these two texts? What is
different?

CCR Anchor Standard

CCSS Standard
Unpacking
College and Career Readiness Anchor
Reading Informational Text
Standards for Reading
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
10. Read and comprehend complex literary 10. By the end of the year, read and
Students are required to read and
and informational texts independently
comprehend informational texts, including understand a wide range of informational
and proficiently.
history/social studies, science, and
texts, within the higher end of second to
technical texts, at the high end of the
third grade text level efficiently, by the
grades 23 text complexity band
end of the year.
independently and proficiently.
The Reading standards place equal
emphasis on the sophistication of what
students read and the skill with which they
read. Standard 10 defines a grade-bygrade staircase of increasing text
complexity that rises from beginning
reading to the college and career readiness
level. Whatever they are reading, students
must also show a steadily growing ability
to discern more from and make fuller use
of text including making an increasing
number of connections among ideas and
between texts, considering a wider range
of textual evidence, and becoming more
sensitive to inconsistencies, ambiguities,
and poor reasoning in texts.
Students also acquire the habits of
reading independently and closely,
which are essential to their future
success.
1
0

Students should encounter appropriately

complex texts at each grade level in order
to develop the mature language skills and
the conceptual knowledge needed for
success in school and life.
Effective scaffolding should allow the
reader to encounter the text with minimal
clarifications. It should not replace the text
by translating its contents for students.

CCR Anchor Standard

There are no anchor standards for
Reading Foundational Skills.

CCSS Standard
Reading Foundational Skills
Phonics and Word Recognition
3. Know and apply grade-level phonics
and word analysis skills in decoding
words.
a. Identify and know the meaning of
the most common prefixes and
derivational suffixes.
b. Decode words with common Latin
suffixes.
c. Decode multisyllable words.
d. Read grade-appropriate irregularly
spelled words.

Unpacking

Students continue learning specific

strategies for decoding words in texts.
Learning prefixes and suffixes along with
Latin suffixes enhances decoding, spelling
ability, and vocabulary development.
Use questions and prompts such as:
Does that sound right?
Does that look right?
Does that make sense?
Can you point to the root word?
Look at the end of the word and try
that again.
Does the word have suffixes or prefixes
that you are already familiar with?
Look for chunks you know
and say them.
Look at the word, does it look like ?
You said does it look like ?

CCR Anchor Standard

There are no anchor standards for
Reading Foundational Skills.

CCSS Standard
Reading Foundational Skills
Fluency
4. Read with sufficient accuracy and
fluency to support comprehension.
a. Read grade-level text with purpose and
understanding.
b. Read grade-level prose and poetry
orally with accuracy, appropriate
rate, and expression.
c. Use context to confirm or self-correct
word recognition and understanding,
rereading as necessary.

Unpacking

Fluency helps the reader process language

for meaning and enjoyment. Fluent
readers are able to focus attention on the
meaning of the text. Readers at this stage
still benefit from opportunities to read
texts multiple times at an independent
level.
Use prompts such as:
Make your reading sound like
the characters are talking.
Go back and reread when it doesnt
sound or look like you think it should.

CCR Anchor Standard

College and Career Readiness Anchor
Standards for Writing

CCSS Standard
Writing

Text Types and Purposes

1. Write opinion pieces on topics or texts,
supporting a point of view with reasons.
a. Introduce the topic or text they are
writing about, state an opinion, and
create an organizational structure
that lists reasons.
b. Provide reasons that support the
opinion.
c. Use linking words and phrases (e.g.,
because, therefore, since, for example)
to connect opinion and reasons.
d. Provide a concluding statement or
section.
2. Write informative/explanatory texts to
2. Write informative/explanatory texts to
examine and convey complex ideas and
examine a topic and convey ideas and
information clearly and accurately through information clearly.
the effective selection, organization, and
a. Introduce a topic and group
analysis of content.
related information together;
include illustrations when useful
to aiding comprehension.
b. Develop the topic with facts,
definitions, and details.
c. Use linking words and phrases (e.g.,
also, another, and, more, but) to
connect ideas within categories of
information.
d. Provide a concluding statement or
section.
1. Write arguments to support claims in an
analysis of substantive topics or texts,
using valid reasoning and relevant and
sufficient evidence.

Unpacking

Third grade students should write opinion

pieces that clearly state their preferences
and supply the reasoning for their
thinking. In doing so, students need to
understand how their reasoning supports
their opinion and be able to share this
thinking. Students also begin to build an
argument by linking their ideas together.
Students need to engage in behaviors (turn
and talk, small group discussion, and
writing and speaking activities) that lead
to the expression of ideas both verbally
and in writing:. Students will also need a
purposeful focus on choice-making
throughout ELA. For example, third grade
students need to be able to choose facts,
definitions, and details to use within their
writing to clarify their thinking about a
topic.
Third grade students are required to
include both an introduction and a
concluding statement or section in their
writing. Students continue to build
strategies for introducing concepts (such
as beginning with a fact, dialogue, or
question about the topic) and concluding

3. Write narratives to develop real or

imagined experiences or events using
effective technique, well-chosen details,
and well-structured event sequences.

3. Write narratives to develop real or

imagined experiences or events using
effective technique, descriptive details,
and clear event sequences.
a. Establish a situation and introduce a
narrator and/or characters; organize
an event sequence that unfolds
naturally.
b. Use dialogue and descriptions of
actions, thoughts, and feelings to
develop experiences and events or
show the response of characters to
situations.
c. Use temporal words and phrases to
signal event order.
d. Provide a sense of closure.

their thoughts (learning to write summary

statements) when writing. They use
transitional words to show order of events
and write with complex sentences to link
the parts of their writing together.
Third grade students write
informative/explanatory pieces as well. In
order to do so, students need strategies for
researching a topic (gathering data),
selecting relevant information (note
taking), grouping like ideas, and
developing a way to present the ideas from
beginning to end (format and organization
of written presentation).
Third grade students write real and
imaginative stories. Students are
expected to use description to show
characters thoughts and feelings as well
as the details of characters interactions
through dialogue. As students develop
characters and use dialogue, they will need
to understand how to introduce characters
and how to engage characters in
conversation in their writing.

CCR Anchor Standard

College and Career Readiness Anchor
Standards for Writing
4. Produce clear and coherent writing
in
which the development, organization, and
style are appropriate to task, purpose, and
audience.
5. Develop and strengthen writing as
needed by planning, revising, editing,
rewriting, or trying a new approach.
6. Use technology, including the Internet,
to produce and publish writing and to
interact and collaborate with others.

CCSS Standard
Writing
Production and Distribution of Writing
4. With guidance and support from adults,
produce writing in which the development
and organization are appropriate to task
and purpose. (Grade-specific expectations
for writing types are defined in standards
13 above.)
5. With guidance and support from peers
and adults, develop and strengthen writing
as needed by planning, revising, and
editing.
6. With guidance and support from adults,
use technology to produce and publish
writing (using keyboarding skills) as
well as to interact and collaborate with
others.

Unpacking

With assistance, third grade students are

expected to produce writing that is clear
and understandable to the reader. Task
(type of writing assignment) and purpose
(the writers designated reason for
writing) should be reflected in the
students organization and development of
a topic.
With assistance from adults and peers,
students should develop revising and
editing skills. In order to do so, students
need to understand how to change word
choice and sentence structure in their
writing to strengthen their piece. They
need assistance with planning for writing
using graphic organizers (story frames,
story mountains, story maps). They also
need to develop the ability to recognize
spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors
and have strategies for correcting these
errors with assistance (conferences, check
sheets, peer editing).
Students in third grade are developing
strategies with peers and adults to use
digital tools. At this grade level, they
should not only use technology for
producing and publishing writing, but also

to collaborate with others. Third grade

students are required to use keyboarding
skills to publish their writing.

CCR Anchor Standard

College and Career Readiness Anchor
Standards for Writing
7. Conduct short as well as more sustained
research projects based on focused
questions, demonstrating understanding of
the subject under investigation.
8. Gather relevant information from
multiple print and digital sources, assess
the credibility and accuracy of each
source, and integrate the information
while avoiding plagiarism.
9. Draw evidence from literary or
informational texts to support analysis,
reflection, and research.

CCSS Standard
Writing

Unpacking

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

7. Conduct short research projects that
Third grade students are required to
build knowledge about a topic.
expand upon the shared research
experience in grade 2 by researching a
topic on their own. In grade 3, students
8. Recall information from experiences or learn how to locate information from print
and digital sources as well as integrate
gather information from print and digital
information from their own experiences.
sources; take brief notes on sources and
They take notes and organize their
sort evidence into provided categories.
information into categories provided by
the teacher.
9. (Begins in grade 4)
At this level, students are gathering
information from a variety of resources
(words, pictures, digital sources) and using
their own background knowledge to
answer research questions and take notes.
Third grade students need to know how to
choose online sources and how to select
the information they need from each
source. They also need to know how to
link the new information they learn online
with offline sources. Items such as,
graphic organizers, check sheets, lists of
appropriate websites, and rubrics to
evaluate technical tools will be helpful to
students.

CCR Anchor Standard

College and Career Readiness Anchor
Standards for Writing
10. Write routinely over extended time
frames (time for research, reflection, and
revision) and shorter time frames (a single
sitting or a day or two) for a range of
tasks, purposes, and audiences.

CCSS Standard
Writing
Range of Writing
10. Write routinely over extended time
frames (time for research, reflection, and
revision) and shorter time frames (a single
sitting or a day or two) for a range of
discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and
audiences.

Unpacking

Students are required to produce numerous

pieces of writing over various time frames
to develop skills in research and allow
time for reflection and revision. Task (type
of writing assignment), audience (the
intended reader), and purpose (the writers
designated reason for writing) should be
reflected in the students development of a
topic related to the content area for which
they are writing about.

CCR Anchor Standard

College and Career Readiness Anchor
Standards for Speaking and Listening
1. Prepare for and participate effectively in
a range of conversations and
collaborations with diverse partners,
building on others ideas and expressing
their own clearly and persuasively.

CCSS Standard
Speaking and Listening
Comprehension and Collaboration
1. Engage effectively in a range of
collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in
groups, and teacher-led) with diverse
partners on grade 3 topics and texts,
building on others ideas and expressing
their own clearly.
a. Come to discussions prepared, having
read or studied required material;
explicitly draw on that preparation and
other information known about the
topic to explore ideas under
discussion.
b. Follow agreed-upon rules for
discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in
respectful ways, listening to others
with care, speaking one at a time about
the topics and texts under discussion).
c. Ask questions to check understanding
of information presented, stay on
topic, and link their comments to the
remarks of others.
d. Explain their own ideas and
understanding in light of the
discussion.

Unpacking

Students in grade three will engage in

conversations about grade-appropriate
topics and texts. In order to do so,
students will need ample opportunities to
take part in a variety of rich, structured
conversations. Students actively engage as
part of a whole class, in small groups, and
with a partner, sharing the roles of
participant, leader, and observer. Students
at this level should engage in
collaborative conversations (such as book
groups, literature circles, buddy reading),
and develop skills in active (close)
listening and group discussion (looking at
the speaker, turn taking, linking ideas to
the speakers idea, sharing the floor, etc).
Third grade students will also determine
the main idea and supporting details of a
text read aloud or information presented in
multiple formats.

2
0

2. Integrate and evaluate information

presented in diverse media and formats,
including visually, quantitatively, and
orally.
3. Evaluate a speakers point of view,
reasoning, and use of evidence and
rhetoric.

2. Determine the main ideas and

supporting details of a text read aloud or
information presented in diverse media
and formats, including visually,
quantitatively, and orally.
3. Ask and answer questions about
information from a speaker, offering
appropriate elaboration and detail.

At this level, students should also be able

to listen carefully to what a speaker says
and then ask questions to clarify what they
heard. If something is not understood,
students should be able to elaborate and
provide details to build upon the speakers
response.

CCR Anchor Standard

College and Career Readiness Anchor
Standards for Speaking and Listening
4. Present information, findings, and
supporting evidence such that listeners can
follow the line of reasoning and the
organization, development, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
5. Make strategic use of digital media and
visual displays of data to express
information and enhance understanding of
presentations.
6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts
and communicative tasks, demonstrating
command of formal English when
indicated or appropriate.

CCSS Standard
Speaking and Listening
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
4. Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or
recount an experience with appropriate
facts and relevant, descriptive details,
speaking clearly at an understandable
pace.
5. Create engaging audio recordings of
stories or poems that demonstrate fluid
reading at an understandable pace; add
visual displays when appropriate to
emphasize or enhance certain facts or
details.
6. Speak in complete sentences when
appropriate to task and situation in order
to provide requested detail or clarification.

Unpacking

Third graders move from describing and

storytelling to reporting on a topic or a
grade-appropriate text. This should be
done orally and in coherent, spoken
sentences at an appropriate and
understandable pace.
Students in the third grade should also be
able to utilize digital media to make
engaging audio recordings of stories or
poems. Engaging might mean focusing on
inflection and volume instead of just
reading out loud. At this level, audio
recordings should demonstrate fluid and
well-paced reading. Visual displays should
be added to illuminate chosen facts or
details.
Students will need to engage in behaviors
(turn and talk, small group discussion,
computer use, and writing and speaking
learning activities) that lead to the
expression of complete ideas both verbally
and in writing. Students will also need a
purposeful focus on choice-making
throughout ELA. For example, third grade
students need to be able to choose visual

displays that add to and enhance their

thinking about a topic. Students must be
able to articulate their ideas in complete
sentences.

CCR Anchor Standard

College and Career Readiness Anchor
Standards for Language
1. Demonstrate command of the
conventions of standard English grammar
and usage when writing or speaking.

CCSS Standard
Language
Conventions of Standard English
1. Demonstrate command of the
conventions of standard English grammar
and usage when writing or speaking.
a. Explain the function of nouns,
pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and
adverbs in general and their
functions in particular sentences.
b. Form and use regular and
irregular plural nouns.
c. Use abstract nouns (e.g., childhood).
d. Form and use regular and
irregular verbs.
e. Form and use the simple (e.g., I
walked; I walk; I will walk) verb
tenses.
f. Ensure subject-verb and pronounantecedent agreement.*
g. Form and use comparative and
superlative adjectives and adverbs, and
choose between them depending on
what is to be modified.
h. Use coordinating and subordinating
conjunctions.
i. Produce simple, compound, and
complex sentences.

Unpacking

An understanding of language is essential

for effective communication. The
inclusion of Language standards in their
own strand should not be taken as an
indication that skills related to
conventions, knowledge of language, and
vocabulary are unimportant to reading,
writing, speaking, listening, and viewing;
indeed, they are inseparable from such
contexts.
Third grade students must have a
command of the grammar and usage of
spoken and written standard English.
Standards that are related to conventions
are appropriate to formal spoken English
as they are to formal written English.
At this level, emphasis expands to include
subject-verb agreement, comparative and
superlative adjectives and adverbs, and
more complex sentences. With
conventions, students are becoming more
adept at end punctuation, comma
usage, appropriate use of capitalization,
and are using spelling patterns and
generalizations in writing.

2. Demonstrate command of the

conventions of standard English
capitalization, punctuation, and spelling
when writing.

2. Demonstrate command of the

conventions of standard English
capitalization, punctuation, and spelling
when writing.
a. Capitalize appropriate words in titles.
b. Use commas in addresses.
c. Use commas and quotation marks in
dialogue.
d. Form and use possessives.
e. Use conventional spelling for highfrequency and other studied words and
for adding suffixes to base words
(e.g., sitting, smiled, cries, happiness).
f. Use spelling patterns and
generalizations (e.g., word
families, position-based spellings,
syllable patterns, ending rules,
meaningful word parts) in writing
words.
g. Consult reference materials,
including beginning dictionaries, as
needed to check and correct spellings.

CCR Anchor Standard

College and Career Readiness Anchor
Standards for Language
3. Apply knowledge of language to
understand how language functions in
different contexts, to make effective
choices for meaning or style, and to
comprehend more fully when reading or
listening.

CCSS Standard
Language
Knowledge of Language
3. Use knowledge of language and its
conventions when writing, speaking,
reading, or listening.
a. Choose words and phrases for effect.*
b. Recognize and observe differences
between the conventions of spoken
and written standard English.

Unpacking

Students in grade 3 will use what they

know about HOW language works when
they write, speak, read, and listen.
Students at this level will develop
strategies for choosing words for effect
and comparing written and spoken
Standard English. To do so, students
swill need strategies for reading
across various authors and genres to
compare writing styles and effects of
language usage.

CCR Anchor Standard

College and Career Readiness Anchor
Standards for Language
4. Determine or clarify the meaning of
unknown and multiple-meaning words and
phrases by using context clues, analyzing
meaningful word parts, and consulting
general and specialized reference
materials, as appropriate.

CCSS Standard
Language
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
4. Determine or clarify the meaning of
unknown and multiple-meaning word and
phrases based on grade 3 reading and
content, choosing flexibly from a range of
strategies.
a. Use sentence-level context as a clue to
the meaning of a word or phrase.
b. Determine the meaning of the new
word formed when a known affix is
added to a known word (e.g.,
agreeable/disagreeable,
comfortable/uncomfortable,
care/careless, heat/preheat).
c. Use a known root word as a clue to the
meaning of an unknown word with the
same root (e.g., company, companion).
d. Use glossaries or beginning
dictionaries, both print and digital, to
determine or clarify the precise
meaning of key words and phrases.

Unpacking

As students at this level focus on word

acquisition and use, the intent of the
CCSS is to introduce grammatical
knowledge in basic ways that will be
relearned in more sophisticated contexts in
the upper grades.
The overall focus of language learning in
regards to vocabulary acquisition is to
guide students as they make purposeful
language choices in writing and speaking
in order to communicate effectively in a
wide range of print and digital texts.
Students need to understand the diversity
in standard English and the ways authors
use formal and informal voice (dialects,
registers) to craft their message for
specific purposes. Students also need
strategies for learning to make these kinds
of choices for themselves as they write
and speak in different contexts and for
different purposes.

5. Demonstrate understanding of word

relationships and nuances in word
meanings.

6. Acquire and use accurately a range of

general academic and domain-specific
words and phrases sufficient for reading,
writing, speaking, and listening at the
college and career readiness level;
demonstrate independence in gathering
vocabulary knowledge when
encountering an unknown term important
to comprehension or expression.

5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative

language, word relationships and nuances
in word meanings.
a. Distinguish the literal and nonliteral
meanings of words and phrases in
context (e.g., take steps).
b. Identify real-life connections
between words and their use (e.g.,
describe people who are friendly or
helpful).
c. Distinguish shades of meaning among
related words that describe states of
mind or degrees of certainty (e.g.,
knew, believed, suspected, heard,
wondered).
6. Acquire
and use accurately gradeappropriate conversational, general
academic and domain-specific words and
phrases, including those that signal spatial
and temporal relationships (e.g., After
dinner that night we went looking for
them).

Learning words at this stage includes

exploring different shades of meaning and
literal and nonliteral meanings for words
and phrases, growing vocabulary by using
known word parts (affix, root) to acquire
unknown words, and developing print and
digital reference use (glossary and
dictionary).
Tier One words are the words of
everyday speech usually learned in the
early grades, albeit not at the same rate by
all children.
General academic vocabulary (Tier 2)
words appear in all sorts of texts;
informational, technical texts, and literary
texts.
Domain-specific vocabulary (Tier 3)
words are specific to a domain or field of
study and key to understanding a new
concept within a text. Because of their
specificity and close ties to content
knowledge, Tier Three words are far more
common in informational texts than in
literature.