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Common Core ELA3rd GradeWriting

W.3.6: Type, Publish and Share Writing

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.6 · Cluster: Production and Distribution of Writing.

Make a Typing PromptAll 42 3rd Grade ELA Standards

The Official Wording

With guidance and support from adults, use technology to produce and publish writing (using keyboarding skills) as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

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

What W.3.6 Means in Plain English

Third graders type their own writing, using both hands, Shift for capitals and the space bar between words, then publish it with an adult’s help. They also use technology to work with others: emailing pen pals, posting to a class page or adding a slide to a shared slideshow.

Second graders (W.2.6) publish with a variety of digital tools, often with classmates. Third grade adds keyboarding to the wording, so students type their own pieces. Fourth grade (W.4.6) brings in the internet, eases off the adult support and sets a target: one typed page in a sitting.

W.3.6 I Can Statements

  • I can type my writing using Shift, the space bar and Enter.
  • I can publish my writing with help from an adult.
  • I can use technology to share ideas and write back to others.

W.3.6 Worked Example

Both replies went to the same pen pals. One reads like a first try at the keyboard, the other like a finished letter.

Prompt

Our pen pals, a 3rd-grade class in Juneau, Alaska, asked what winter is like here in Phoenix. Type a reply in the class email. Hold Shift for capital letters, leave a space after each period, and reread it with an adult before you press Send.

Not Yethi room 4 winter here is not cold. we dont get snow.it is fun here bye sofiaTyped, but not ready to send: Shift was never used, the second period has no space after it, “dont” is missing its apostrophe, and the reply gives the pen pals nothing to answer.
Meets the StandardDear Room 4, Thank you for your email about building snow forts! Winter in Phoenix is very different, because it almost never snows here. In January it is usually warm enough to play outside in a sweatshirt, and the orange trees on our street are full of oranges. How cold does it get in Juneau? Please write back and send a picture of your snow fort if you can. Your pen pal, SofiaIt shows the keyboard habits the class practiced: capitals made with Shift and a space after every period. It answers the pen pals’ question with real details and asks one back, which is the interacting with others that W.3.6 names.
Moves to Use
Hold Shift for every capital letter, including names like Juneau.Leave one space after each period.Answer the other class’s question, then ask one back.Reread on screen with an adult before you press Send.

Common Mistakes with W.3.6

Caps Lock for one capital

“dEAR rOOM 4,” typed with Caps Lock on and Shift held for the capitals

Try this: Teach holding Shift with the opposite pinky, then have students type their names and three sentences with Caps Lock taped over.

Hunting and pecking with one finger

A four-sentence reply that takes the whole writing block to type

Try this: Give ten minutes of home-row practice three times a week, so typing speed stops eating the time meant for writing.

Publishing without a reread

A message sent with “we dont get snow.it is fun” still in it

Try this: Make “read it aloud on screen to an adult” the last step before any piece is posted, sent or printed.

Where W.3.6 Fits

Comes BeforeW.2.6Use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, with adult help and alongside classmates.
AlongsideW.3.5Revise and edit before publishing, which is quicker on a screen than on paper.L.3.2The capitals, commas and spelling that a typed and published piece puts on display.
Comes NextW.4.6Use the internet to publish and collaborate, and type at least one page in a single sitting.

Practice W.3.6

Writing Prompt GeneratorFree ToolA short journal prompt for a typed response, so keyboarding practice is also writing practice, not drills alone.Journal3-5
Make a Prompt

Quick Check

  1. Which keyboard habits from the prompt does the strong reply show?
  2. How does the strong reply interact with the pen pals, not just inform them?
  3. Name two problems in the weak reply that typing habits would have prevented.

W.3.6: Other Names

W.3.6CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.6

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.