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Common Core ELA3rd GradeReading: Literature

RL.3.10: Read Grade-Level Literature Independently

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.10 · Cluster: Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity.

All 42 3rd Grade ELA Standards

The Official Wording

By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, at the high end of the grades 2-3 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

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

What RL.3.10 Means in Plain English

By year’s end third graders read chapter books, plays and poems at the top of the grades 2 to 3 range on their own and understand them. Plays are new on the list, so students learn to read stage directions as part of the story.

In 2nd grade (RL.2.10) students read in the same band with help at its hard end. Third grade removes the help. In 4th grade (RL.4.10) the band moves up to grades 4 to 5, with support again at its top.

RL.3.10 I Can Statements

  • I can read a grade 3 story, play or poem on my own.
  • I can use stage directions to follow what happens in a play.
  • I can reread a confusing part and fix my understanding.

RL.3.10 Worked Example

A short play scene, read cold. The answer is in the stage directions, not the lines.

Read the Story
(A kitchen, early morning. Smoke puffs out of the waffle iron. LILA, eight, pries four black waffles onto a plate.)DAD (calling from upstairs): Lila? Do I smell smoke?LILA (sliding the plate behind the bread box): Nope! Everything is perfect!(She flaps a cookbook at the smoke. DAD walks in, sniffing.)LILA (holding out one peeled banana): Surprise! Breakfast in bed! Except you’re not in bed.
A short passage written for this page.
Question: What was Lila trying to do, and what went wrong? How do you know?
Not Yet“Lila gave Dad a banana for breakfast.”It takes the last line at face value and skips the stage directions, where the burned waffles and the hidden plate are.
Meets the Standard“Lila was making Dad waffles as a surprise, but she burned them. The stage directions show ‘four black waffles’ and Lila ‘sliding the plate behind the bread box,’ even while she says ‘Everything is perfect!’ The banana is her backup plan.”It puts the stage directions and the spoken lines together, which is how a play has to be read.
Question Stems to Use
Who is on stage, and where are they?What do the stage directions show that the characters don’t say?Does what the character says match what the character does?Which part did you reread, and what did you figure out?What do you think happens next?

Common Mistakes with RL.3.10

Reading names and directions aloud as lines

“Dad calling from upstairs Lila do I smell smoke”

Try this: Show students the format first: the name in capitals tells who speaks, and words in parentheses tell what happens. Neither is said aloud.

Taking every line at face value

“Lila says everything is perfect, so it is.”

Try this: Ask “Does what she says match what she does?” after each line, and have students check the nearest stage direction.

Only easy books in the book bin

Every independent read sits well below the grade 3 band

Try this: Stock the classroom library with some texts at the hard end of the band, and confer with students while they read them alone.

Where RL.3.10 Fits

Comes BeforeRL.2.10Read grades 2 to 3 stories and poems, with help at the hard end of the range.
AlongsideRF.3.4Read grade-level text accurately and fluently enough to understand it.RI.3.10Read grade 3 history, science and how-to texts on their own.
Comes NextRL.4.10Read grades 4 to 5 stories, plays and poems, with support at the high end.

Practice RL.3.10

Quick Check

  1. Who is in the kitchen when the scene starts, and what is she doing?
  2. Where does Lila hide the waffles?
  3. Why does Lila hold out a banana?

RL.3.10: Other Names

RL.3.10CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.10

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.