3rd grade English Language Arts
21 units matched to the New York State Learning Standards. Kids see this subject as “Reading & Writing”.
Focus areas
- Reading: main ideas, characters, genres and how informational texts are organized
- Writing: research questions, notes and sources
- Language: parts of speech, punctuation, spelling patterns and prefixes and suffixes
- Media: telling facts from opinions and what a message is for
Units
Unit 1
Read and Think
Reading short original stories and non-fiction passages, then finding the main idea, details and order of events, making inferences and working out word meanings from context.
Learning standard: 3R1; 3R2 · understanding stories and finding the main idea of informational texts
Unit 2
Story Elements
Naming the characters, setting, problem and solution of a story, describing how characters feel and what they are like, and finding a story's lesson.
Learning standard: 3R3; 3R5 · characters, settings and plots
Unit 3
Word Jobs
Finding nouns (naming words), verbs (action words), adjectives (describing words) and adverbs (words that tell how) in sentences.
Learning standard: 3L1 · nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs
Unit 4
Punctuation Power
Choosing end marks, using commas in lists and dates, writing contractions and possessives with apostrophes, and putting quotation marks around speech.
Learning standard: 3L2 · commas, apostrophes and quotation marks
Unit 5
Spelling Patterns
Spelling long vowel sounds with vowel teams (ai, ay, ee, ea, oa, ow, igh, ie) and adding -ed and -ing by doubling a letter, dropping a silent e or just adding the ending.
Learning standard: 3RF3; 3L2 · spelling vowel teams and word endings
Unit 6
Prefixes & Suffixes
Learning what prefixes (un-, re-, pre-, dis-) and suffixes (-ful, -less, -er, -ly) mean, finding base words and using new words in sentences.
Learning standard: 3RF3; 3L4 · using prefixes and suffixes to read and understand words
Unit 7
Word Pairs
Synonyms (words that mean the same), antonyms (opposites) and homophones (words that sound alike but are spelled differently, like their, there and they're).
Learning standard: 3L5 · synonyms, antonyms and homophones
Unit 8
Sentence Smarts
Telling statements, questions, exclamations and commands apart, spotting incomplete sentences and joining ideas with so, but, or and because.
Learning standard: 3L1 · complete sentences and kinds of sentences
Unit 9
ABC Order & Dictionary
Putting words in alphabetical order to the first, second and third letter, and using dictionary guide words to find the right page.
Learning standard: 3L4 · alphabetical order and using a dictionary
Unit 10
Grammar Gears
Showing who owns something with 's, choosing linking verbs and -ing verbs, using question words like which and whose, and spotting prepositions and interjections.
Learning standard: 3L1; 3L2 · possessives, verb tenses and prepositions
Unit 11
Reading Patterns
Spotting cause and effect and order of importance, deciding who is telling a story, making inferences from clues, and using an index.
Learning standard: 3R3; 3R5 · cause and effect, order and other ways informational texts are organized
Unit 12
Wonder & Find Out
Practices using what you already know, asking focused questions, choosing information from sources, deciding what to include, and noticing diversity and inclusion in stories.
Learning standard: 3W6; 3W7 · asking research questions and choosing sources
Unit 13
Media Messages
Children sort media by purpose (to inform, persuade or entertain), notice how ads use music, famous people and strong words, tell facts from opinions, and choose good sources for research questions.
Learning standard: 3R8; 3W7 · facts and opinions, what a message is for and choosing sources
Unit 14
Word Pictures
Understanding metaphors and similes, hearing repeated vowel sounds (assonance), and choosing strong, exact words.
Learning standard: 3R4 · what metaphors, sound patterns and strong word choices mean
Unit 15
Plan Your Writing
Practices choosing a topic from experience, thinking about audience and purpose, using planning tools such as webs and organizers, and telling narrative, informational, descriptive and persuasive writing apart.
Learning standard: 3W2; 3W3 · choosing a topic, purpose and audience, and the kinds of writing
Unit 16
Make Writing Better
Practices adding descriptive words, joining ideas with connecting and transition words, noticing when writing doesn't make sense, revising with feedback, and neat handwriting and word processing.
Learning standard: 3L6 · strong, precise words, joining and time words, and revising
Unit 17
Listening & Talking Together
Practices listening for key ideas, using non-verbal cues and turn taking, asking thoughtful questions, giving evidence, and sharing thoughts and preferences in a group.
Learning standard: 3SL1; 3SL2; 3SL3 · listening for key ideas, taking turns and asking questions
Unit 18
Posters, Slides & Media
Practices multimodal texts (posters, slide shows, videos, photo essays), planning a layout, choosing visuals and fonts, and picking the best way to share a message with an audience.
Learning standard: 3SL5 · choosing words, pictures and layout for posters and talks
Unit 19
Kinds of Texts
Your child names a text's genre from its features (fable, biography, tall tale, play, informational text) and makes text-to-self, text-to-text and text-to-world connections, including tales from different cultures.
Learning standard: 3R9; 3R5 · recognizing genres and connecting texts to other texts, cultures and their own lives
Unit 20
Pictures, Features and Points of View
Your child explains what illustrations, diagrams, maps, timelines and captions add to the words, notices when their own view differs from the author's, narrator's or a character's, and tells casual talk from the clearer language used in school writing.
Learning standard: 3R6; 3R7; 3L3 · how illustrations and text features add meaning, comparing a reader's view with an author's or character's, and conversational versus academic English
Unit 21
Claims, Stories and Responses
Your child picks claims, reasons and evidence and a fitting conclusion, then the parts of a strong story (a hook, dialogue, descriptive details, showing feelings, order words and an ending) and creative ways to respond to a text.
Learning standard: 3W1; 3W3; 3W4 · claims with reasons and evidence, story techniques, details and event order, and creative responses to texts
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