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Common Core ELA3rd GradeReading: Literature

RL.3.1: Ask and Answer Questions Using the Text

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.1 · Cluster: Key Ideas and Details.

All 42 3rd Grade ELA Standards

The Official Wording

Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

Common Core State Standards, Grade 3, Reading: Literature · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What RL.3.1 Means in Plain English

Third graders ask and answer questions about a story, and back up every answer by pointing to the words in the text that prove it. “I just know” or “because it’s sad” isn’t enough yet.

This is where citing evidence starts. In 4th grade students refer to details and examples to explain a text (RL.4.1), and in 5th grade they quote it accurately (RL.5.1).

RL.3.1 I Can Statements

  • I can ask questions about a story to check that I understand it.
  • I can answer questions about a story using details from the text.
  • I can show where in the text I found my answer.

RL.3.1 Worked Example

One question, two answers. The difference is whether the answer points back to the text.

Read the Story
Maya held the jar up to the window. The caterpillar inside had not moved all morning.“Maybe it’s sick,” said her brother, Leo.Maya shook her head. She pointed to the hard, green shell hanging from the twig. “It’s not sick,” she said. “It’s busy.”
A short passage written for this page.
Question: Why does Maya think the caterpillar is not sick?
Not Yet“Because caterpillars sleep a lot.”It might be true, but nothing in the story says it. The answer comes from outside the text.
Meets the Standard“Maya points to ‘the hard, green shell hanging from the twig’ and says, ‘It’s busy.’ She knows something is happening inside the shell.”The answer points to the exact words that prove it.
Question Stems to Use
Who…?What happened when…?Why did…?How do you know?Which words tell you that?

Common Mistakes with RL.3.1

Answering from what they already know

“Because caterpillars sleep a lot.”

Try this: Before accepting an answer, ask “Where does it say that?” and wait for a finger on the page.

Copying a whole paragraph as proof

The answer is the full passage, copied out

Try this: Have students underline only the words that prove the answer, then use just those.

Only asking “right there” questions

“What color is the shell?”

Try this: Model a why or how question whose answer needs two details from different sentences.

Where RL.3.1 Fits

Comes BeforeRL.2.1Ask and answer who, what, where, when, why and how questions about key details.
AlongsideRI.3.1The same skill with nonfiction.RL.3.2Retell a story and find its lesson using key details.
Comes NextRL.4.1Refer to details and examples to explain a text, including inferences.

Practice RL.3.1

Quick Check

  1. Where does Maya keep the caterpillar?
  2. What does Leo think is wrong with the caterpillar?
  3. Why isn’t Maya worried? Use the text.

RL.3.1: Other Names

RL.3.1CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.1

Common Core State Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Official wording from the Common Core State Standards PDFs at corestandards.org, last checked October 14, 2026. The explanation, I can statements, example, mistakes and practice on this page are EMStudio’s own, written beside the official wording. They are not part of the standard.