RF.3.4: Read Smoothly, Accurately and with Expression
Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.3.4 · Cluster: Fluency.
The Official Wording
Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
Common Core State Standards, Grade 3, Reading: Foundational Skills · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026
What RF.3.4 Means in Plain English
Third graders read grade-level stories and poems aloud accurately, at a natural pace and with expression, sounding smoother each time they reread. They know why they are reading, and when a word doesn’t fit, like quite where quiet belongs, they stop, reread and fix it.
RF.2.4 asked the same of 2nd graders with any grade-level text. Third grade names poetry outright, so students learn to read through line breaks. In 4th grade (RF.4.4) the goals stay the same while the texts get longer and harder.
RF.3.4 I Can Statements
- I can read a poem aloud with few or no mistakes.
- I can read at a steady pace with expression that fits.
- I can reread when a word doesn’t make sense and fix it.
RF.3.4 Worked Example
A six-line poem read three times, with the thinking behind each read, including one self-correction.
Read this poem aloud to a partner: The first snow fell so quiet, / not one flake made a sound. / It settled on the swing set / and tucked in all the ground. / I pressed my nose against the glass. / Come on, morning! Come on, fast!
- Before reading aloud, I read it silently so I know what it’s about and how it should feel: a hushed snowfall, then someone who can’t wait.Purpose: soft snow at night, an excited kid at the window
- First read, slow enough to get every word. I say “The first snow fell so quite.” That doesn’t make sense, so I go back.quite? No. qui · et, two syllables: quiet. Reread the line.
- Second read, steadier. There’s no comma after swing set, so I don’t stop there. The sentence runs into the next line.It settled on the swing set and tucked in all the ground.
- The first four lines are soft, so I read them low and slow. The last line has two exclamation points, so it speeds up and gets brighter.soft: not one flake made a sound. bright: Come on, morning!
- Third read: my partner follows along and marks any word I miss or change. Fewer marks and smoother lines than the first read means it’s working.Read 1: one miss, a stop at every line end. Read 3: no misses, soft start, bright finish.
Check it: Ask the reader what happens in the poem. If they can say the snow fell silently and the speaker can’t wait for morning, the fluency is helping them understand.
Common Mistakes with RF.3.4
Stopping at the end of every line
“It settled on the swing set.” (long pause) “And tucked in all the ground.”
Try this: Have students find the punctuation first and pause only there, reading straight through line breaks that have no comma or period.
Reading past a word that doesn’t fit
Says “the first snow fell so quite” and keeps going
Try this: Teach a stop-and-check habit: if a sentence sounded wrong, reread it once, looking hard at the word that didn’t fit.
Sing-song reading of poems
Bounces every line to the same beat, whatever it says
Try this: Model one stanza twice, sing-song and then like talking, and have students tell which version sounds like someone meaning the words.
Where RF.3.4 Fits
Practice RF.3.4
Quick Check
- How should you say quiet in the first line, and how do you know?
- Should you pause after swing set? Why or why not?
- Which line should sound brightest, and why?