Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.
Common Core State Standards, Grade 3, Speaking & Listening · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026
What SL.3.4 Means in Plain English
Third graders give a short report, retell a story or describe something that happened to them, using real facts and details a listener can picture. They speak clearly and pause between ideas, at a pace the back row can follow, instead of racing through their notes.
Second graders (SL.2.4) told a story or recounted an experience audibly, in coherent sentences. Third grade adds reports on a topic or a text and a pace listeners can keep up with. Fourth grade (SL.4.4) adds organization: facts and details arranged to support a main idea or theme.
SL.3.4 I Can Statements
I can give a short report with facts and details.
I can add details my listeners can picture.
I can speak clearly and pause so listeners can keep up.
SL.3.4 Worked Example
A one-minute report answering one question, said two ways. The words are half of it; the pauses are the other half.
Prompt
Give the class a one-minute report: why do leaves change color in the fall?
Not YetLeaves change color in the fall and they turn red and orange and yellow and then they fall off and you can jump in them and it’s fun and I think it’s ’cause it gets cold.One breath, no pauses, and the only answer to the question is a guess. Jumping in the pile is true but doesn’t explain the colors.
Meets the StandardLeaves are green in summer because they’re full of chlorophyll, the green stuff that helps a tree make food from sunlight. (pause) In the fall, the days get shorter, and the tree stops making chlorophyll. (pause) As the green fades, yellow and orange show through. They were hiding in the leaf all summer. (pause) Some trees, like red maples, make a new red color in the fall, so their leaves look like they’re on fire.The first sentence names the green and what it does, and every fact after it explains the change. “Hiding in the leaf all summer” and “on fire” give listeners pictures, and the pauses let them keep up.
Moves to Use
Open with one sentence that tells listeners the topic.Use facts and science words, not just “it gets cold.”Add one detail the audience can picture, like leaves on fire.Pause after each fact, and speak slowly enough for the back row.Leave out side stories that don’t answer the question.
Common Mistakes with SL.3.4
Racing to the finish
A one-minute report done in twenty seconds, eyes on the paper the whole time
Try this: Mark a slash on the note card after each fact, and have students breathe and look up at every slash.
Opinions in place of facts
“Fall is the best season and the leaves are so pretty.”
Try this: Have students check each sentence on their card: could a listener look this up? If not, swap it for a fact.
Talking into the paper
The front row hears the report, and the back row hears a murmur
Try this: Practice with a partner standing across the room, who raises a hand whenever a word gets lost, until no hand goes up.
Classroom TimerFree ToolPut one minute on the clock for each report, so reporters practice filling the time with facts instead of racing to finish.1-minute reportsPractice round