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3rd grade · English Language Arts · Unit 10 of 13

Grammar Gears

Possessives, verbs and prepositions

What your child practices

Showing who owns something with 's, choosing linking verbs and -ing verbs, using question words like which and whose, and spotting prepositions and interjections.

Arizona Academic Standards learning standard: 3.L.1; 3.L.2 · possessives, verb tenses and prepositions

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Add ’s to show who owns something: the dog’s bone.
  2. Question words ask for different things: who (a person), when (a time), where (a place), which (a choice), whose (an owner).
  3. Prepositions show where: under, on, beside. An interjection shows feeling: Oops! Wow!

Example: Which word completes the question? “___ is your birthday?” “In May.” The answer, May, is a time. The question word for a time is when. Answer: When

Grammar Gears in Arizona

In the Arizona Academic Standards, this is unit 10 of 13 in 3rd grade English Language Arts, after ABC Order & Dictionary and before Reading Patterns.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Arizona Department of Education

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Which sentence has a linking verb?

    • The lake is calm.
    • The lake froze overnight.
    • The ducks swim in the lake.

  2. Question 2

    Which word is the preposition? The cat hid under the table.

    • hid
    • cat
    • under

  3. Question 3

    Which word completes the question? ___ pencil is on the floor?

    • Why
    • Which
    • Whose

  4. Question 4

    Use the progressive tense: Right now, the birds ___ in the tree.

    • are singing
    • will sing
    • sang

  5. Question 5

    ___ did you walk to school? Because it was sunny.

    • Why
    • When
    • How

  6. Question 6

    Which sentence is in the past progressive tense?

    • They were playing soccer.
    • They played soccer.
    • They play soccer.

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