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Georgia Standards

Georgia 3rd Grade ELA Standards

All 129 Georgia English language arts standards for 3rd grade, each explained in plain English. The official wording is in Georgia Department of Education's document, linked at the end of this page.

129 standards

Phonics

3 standards
Decoding & Encoding with Phonics
3.F.P.4.a
Read and spell words with letter groups that can stand for more than one sound, like ough in tough and though or ea in bread and bead.
3.F.P.4.b
Read and spell one-syllable and longer words of every syllable type, like closed, open, vowel team and r-controlled, as in fantastic or remember.
3.F.P.4.c
Read and spell words with common beginnings and endings added, like rewrite, unkind, careful and quickly.

Fluency

4 standards
Oral & Silent Reading Fluency
3.F.F.1.a
Build the set of words they know instantly by reading regular and irregular words, on lists and in sentences, quickly and correctly.
3.F.F.1.b
Read many kinds of new third-grade texts they have not seen before, making fewer and fewer mistakes.
3.F.F.1.c
Read third-grade texts aloud with good phrasing, expression, pauses and tone of voice, using that smooth reading to help them understand.
3.F.F.1.d
Catch and fix their own errors while reading third-grade texts silently or aloud, rereading parts when needed to keep the meaning and flow.

Handwriting

3 standards
Read Cursive
3.F.H.3.a
Read phrases and full sentences written in cursive handwriting, like a note from a teacher or a card from a grandparent.
Write Cursive
3.F.H.4.a
Practice writing cursive letters and the strokes that join them inside words.
3.F.H.4.b
Leave clear, even gaps between cursive words when writing a sentence so it is easy to read.

Engagement & Intention for Comprehension & Composition

26 standards
Reader & Writer Identity
3.P.EICC.1.a
Make their own reading and writing goals for school and for fun, like finishing a series or writing longer stories, then track and revise them.
3.P.EICC.1.b
Explain in speech or writing their reading and writing tastes, pointing to the genres, topics, formats and author techniques they enjoy most.
3.P.EICC.1.c
Pick, read and write texts that match both their interests and third-grade class topics, like a biography tied to a social studies unit.
3.P.EICC.1.d
Grow a set of go-to strategies for understanding and writing texts, like asking questions while reading or using a story map, and use them when needed.
3.P.EICC.1.e
Take part in a classroom community of readers and writers, helping make group rules, discussing texts, sharing and hearing drafts, and giving and using feedback.
3.P.EICC.1.f
Become a more self-directed reader and writer, making their own choices and working through texts with less help from the teacher.
Engagement & Intention
3.P.EICC.2.a
Share real or invented experiences by reading and writing stories, like a personal story about a first day at a new school or a fantasy adventure.
3.P.EICC.2.b
Turn to texts to gain knowledge, build skills, decide things wisely and pass on information, like comparing pet care books before choosing a pet.
3.P.EICC.2.c
Learn and explain ideas and step-by-step processes through reading and writing, like reading how the water cycle works and writing an explanation.
3.P.EICC.2.d
Read and write in order to study and judge texts and ideas, like writing a short review of a book that explains what worked and what did not.
3.P.EICC.2.e
Read and create texts to work out problems or sway decisions, like writing a letter to the principal asking for a longer recess.
Comprehension Strategies
3.P.EICC.3.a
Set a reason and goals before reading, like finding out how bats hunt, keep checking their understanding and change strategies when needed.
3.P.EICC.3.b
Skim and scan a text to spot the parts and structure most likely to help, like using headings and the table of contents to find a section on volcanoes.
3.P.EICC.3.c
Compare and blend their background knowledge with a text's information, sorting out conflicts or gaps and building on what they knew before.
3.P.EICC.3.d
Make mental pictures and short summaries of each part of a text as they read to hold on to its meaning, like summing up each section of an article.
3.P.EICC.3.e
Predict upcoming events or information in a text, keep track of each prediction and confirm or change it as the text goes on.
3.P.EICC.3.f
Draw conclusions about deeper meanings in a text, follow them as they read and support each one with details, like inferring a lesson the author never states.
3.P.EICC.3.g
Figure out unfamiliar words and ideas using context clues, academic words they already know and word parts like pre-, re- or -less.
Writing Processes
3.P.EICC.4.a
Before writing, choose a purpose, set goals and name the readers, like writing to teach second graders how to care for a class pet.
3.P.EICC.4.b
Plan the shape of a text by choosing a format, genre and structure that suit its purpose and readers, like a comic strip, a letter or a report.
3.P.EICC.4.c
Gather ideas for a piece of writing from what they already know, from books and articles, and from conversations with classmates.
3.P.EICC.4.d
Sort ideas and facts into their writing plan and pick out the most relevant, useful and powerful ones to feature.
3.P.EICC.4.e
Turn a plan into a first draft, combining ideas and facts and choosing words, sentences and writer's techniques that fit the purpose and appeal to readers.
3.P.EICC.4.f
Judge how well a draft works using their own rereading or others' feedback, checking whether it meets the purpose and goals they set.
3.P.EICC.4.g
Improve a draft after self-review or feedback by reworking its organization, ideas, details, word choice and techniques.
3.P.EICC.4.h
Edit a draft so spelling, capitalization, punctuation and grammar follow standard rules, like fixing the commas in a list.

Situating Texts

6 standards
Context
3.P.ST.1.a
Draw on prior knowledge, research and discussion to pick out the most important background for a text, like the time period or culture it comes from.
3.P.ST.1.b
Consider how background, like where and when a text was made, shapes the author's reasons for writing and the readers' reasons for reading.
3.P.ST.1.c
Look into how setting, culture and events guide an author's choices and readers' reactions, both in texts they read and texts they write.
Author, Audience, & Purpose
3.P.ST.2.a
Apply knowledge of who wrote a text, who it is for and its background to identify or choose its purpose, then judge how well that purpose is met.
3.P.ST.2.b
Draw on knowledge of author, audience and background to identify a text's point of view and bring a clear, personal perspective to their own writing.
3.P.ST.2.c
Use what they know about how authors plan for readers to decide which ideas to feature, what layout is easiest to read, and which words and techniques hit hardest.

Author’s Craft

12 standards
Reading like a Writer
3.P.AC.1.a
Identify, use and analyze story, informational and opinion elements, like a plot twist or a fact box, explaining how each affects readers and helps the purpose.
3.P.AC.1.b
Identify, try out and analyze effective language, explaining how word choices, like whispered instead of said, affect readers and serve the purpose.
3.P.AC.1.c
Analyze and judge how an author's sentence lengths and word order affect readers and help the text do its job, like a long sentence that slows a scene.
3.P.AC.1.d
Analyze and evaluate a text's design, explaining how its format, structure, patterns and features help readers follow it and serve its purpose.
Writing like a Reader
3.P.AC.2.a
Mix elements of stories, informational texts and opinion writing in their own work, like adding a short anecdote to a report, to win over readers and meet a purpose.
3.P.AC.2.b
Pick and shape words and phrases to steer how readers react, think, decide or wonder, like calling a park dangerous to argue for a new fence.
3.P.AC.2.c
Choose sentence types, lengths and word order to suit and affect readers, like a question opening to hook interest, so the writing meets its purpose.
3.P.AC.2.d
Arrange their texts with chosen formats, structures and features, like headings and a diagram, to guide readers, make the text easy to use and serve its purpose.
Text Design
3.P.AC.3.a
Explore and produce many kinds of texts, like blogs, plays and picture books, using what they learn about how features shape meaning, tone, style and audience.
3.P.AC.3.b
Apply what they know about how format and genre affect content, like knowing a recipe lists ingredients while a story describes characters.
3.P.AC.3.c
Apply what they know about format and genre to arrange ideas and facts, like dates in order on a timeline or questions and answers in an interview.
3.P.AC.3.d
Take in and create multimodal texts, like a slideshow with images and voice, blending genres, features and techniques to influence an audience and meet a goal.

Collaboration & Presentation

9 standards
Collaboration
3.P.CP.1.a
Show up to group discussions and team meetings prepared to contribute, like bringing notes, questions or finished assigned reading.
3.P.CP.1.b
Team up to set group rules, goals and ways of working on a shared project, like assigning roles, and help the group get its work done.
3.P.CP.1.c
Take part in discussions and team projects by suggesting ideas, hearing others out and giving useful feedback on their thinking.
3.P.CP.1.d
Collaborate to discuss subjects, research questions, work through problems and explore or write texts as a team, like a group report on frogs.
Presentation
3.P.CP.2.a
Present ideas, information and texts in a way listeners can easily follow, like giving a short, clear talk about a book they read.
3.P.CP.2.b
Combine the presentation formats and genres that best fit the purpose and listeners, like pairing a spoken report with photos or a chart.
3.P.CP.2.c
Adjust tone of voice, speaking speed, eye contact and gestures to suit the audience and goal, like sounding excited when persuading.
3.P.CP.2.d
Interact with listeners during and after a presentation by posing questions and responding to the questions they raise.
3.P.CP.2.e
Recite all or part of important poems and speeches fit for third grade, like part of Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have a Dream speech, to build background knowledge.

Grammar Conventions

27 standards
Grammar, Usage, & Mechanics
3.L.GC.1.18
Master apostrophes in contractions and in nouns with one owner, like don't, we're and the girl's coat.
3.L.GC.1.19
Master plurals that do not follow the add-s rule, like men, geese, wolves and sheep, forming and using them correctly.
3.L.GC.1.20
Master past tense verbs that break the ed rule, like brought, swam, caught and wrote, using them correctly in sentences.
3.L.GC.1.21
Master using and, but, or and so to join words, phrases and clauses, like I was tired, so I went to bed.
3.L.GC.1.23
Master nouns that name groups or ideas, like class, herd, honesty and fear, using them correctly in sentences.
3.L.GC.1.24
Master reflexive pronouns such as yourself, herself and themselves, like They cleaned the room themselves.
3.L.GC.1.25
Master the comma before a joining word that links two full sentences, like I wanted to play, but it was time for bed.
3.L.GC.1.26
Master breaking a long word with a hyphen at a syllable break when it runs past the end of a line, like gar- with den on the next line.
3.L.GC.1.27
Keep practicing phrases that begin with a preposition, like across the river or before the game, to add where and when details.
3.L.GC.1.28
Keep practicing comparing forms of describing words, like bigger and biggest, more carefully and most carefully, or good, better and best.
3.L.GC.1.29
Keep practicing pronouns that match the noun they replace in number and gender, like The boys lost their ball.
3.L.GC.1.30
Keep practicing how to punctuate dialogue, with a comma, a capital at the start of the spoken words and quote marks around them.
3.L.GC.1.31
Begin using who, whose, which and that, plus where, when and why, to add detail, like the girl who won or the park where we play.
3.L.GC.1.32
Begin using short words that show strong feeling, like wow, oops and hooray, often followed by an exclamation mark.
3.L.GC.1.33
Begin using helping verbs like can, will and has, and linking verbs like is, seems and became, as in She is happy.
3.L.GC.1.34
Begin choosing correctly between words that sound or look alike, like your and you're, its and it's, or accept and except.
3.L.GC.1.35
Begin capitalizing abbreviations, adjectives made from names and people's titles, like Dr., Mexican food and President Lincoln.
3.L.GC.1.36
Begin using a comma when speaking to someone by name and after yes or no, like Sam, come here or No, thank you.
3.L.GC.1.37
Begin using apostrophes to show something belongs to more than one owner, like the girls' bikes or the children's toys.
3.L.GC.1.38
Begin using pronouns like everyone, nobody and several with verbs that match, like Everyone is here and Several are missing.
3.L.GC.1.39
Begin joining ideas with words like because, when, although and if, as in We went inside because it started to rain.
3.L.GC.1.40
Begin putting a comma after an opening phrase or clause, like After lunch, we played outside.
3.L.GC.1.41
Begin capitalizing titles of books, songs and poems and marking them with underlining, italics or quotation marks, like Charlotte's Web.
Syntax
3.L.GC.2.a
Tell apart simple, compound and complex sentences that are built correctly, like spotting the because part that makes a sentence complex.
3.L.GC.2.b
Write with a mix of simple, compound and complex sentences to make ideas clear and connected, keeping verb tense steady from sentence to sentence.
3.L.GC.2.c
Match subjects and verbs in all kinds of sentences, including longer ones, like The box of crayons is on the desk.
3.L.GC.2.d
Expand ideas with precise adjectives and adverbs that add detail and description, like The tiny kitten crept silently across the dark room.

Vocabulary

10 standards
General, Academic, & Specialized Vocabulary
3.L.V.1.a
Pick up a wide range of everyday, academic and subject words from third-grade reading and lessons, like fraction, climate or summarize.
3.L.V.1.b
Use third-grade everyday, academic and subject words to speak and write more effectively in different settings, like using numerator to explain a fraction.
Word Analysis
3.L.V.2.a
Break words into roots and affixes to work out what they mean, like seeing port, meaning carry, in transport.
3.L.V.2.b
Recognize word endings that signal a part of speech, like -ful or -less for adjectives and -ness for nouns, to help understand what they read.
3.L.V.2.c
Create words by combining roots and affixes, like adding pre to view for preview or tele and phone for telephone.
Meaning & Purpose
3.L.V.3.a
Use clues in the sentence, the surrounding text, pictures and graphs to work out unfamiliar words and words with several meanings, like scale or current.
3.L.V.3.b
Recognize words that sound alike or are spelled alike, like knight and night or a wind and to wind, and use synonyms and antonyms to clear up meanings.
3.L.V.3.c
Tell apart the small differences in meaning between similar verbs, like nibble, chew and gobble, and similar adjectives, like warm, hot and blazing.
3.L.V.3.d
Use print or online glossaries and beginner dictionaries to check spellings and pin down the exact meaning of words and phrases.
3.L.V.3.e
Draw on word relationships and new vocabulary to choose exact words when speaking and writing, like enormous rather than really big.

Context

5 standards
Purpose & Audience
3.T.C.1.a
Figure out whether a text is meant to entertain, inform or persuade, and who it is written for, like a toy ad aimed at kids.
3.T.C.1.b
Identify the usual features of printed, digital, audio, spoken and visual texts, like links or sound effects, and describe how they help the purpose and effect.
3.T.C.1.c
Make texts that combine two or more assigned forms, like writing, pictures and audio, using their features for a given purpose and audience.
Authors & Speakers
3.T.C.2.a
Describe how the narrator or speakers in a text see things and explain how their own view differs, like disagreeing with a character's choice.
3.T.C.2.c
With help from an adult, identify the circumstances a text was written in, like the time period, the writer's life or the situation.

Structure & Style

6 standards
Organization
3.T.SS.1.a
Describe how a text uses features like maps and captions and structures like cause and effect to present ideas, naming parts with words like chapter or section.
3.T.SS.1.b
Plan and build their own texts with different structures and features, like a compare-and-contrast layout with labeled diagrams, to suit purpose and readers.
3.T.SS.1.c
Connect ideas and facts smoothly in writing with linking words and transitions, like although, since, however and as a result.
3.T.SS.1.d
Group sentences about one idea into clear paragraphs that hold together, like a topic sentence followed by details that fit it.
Craft
3.T.SS.2.a
Find and describe similes, metaphors and idioms in many kinds of texts, like fast as lightning, the classroom was a zoo or break a leg.
3.T.SS.2.b
Use similes, metaphors and idioms in their own writing to show how ideas connect, like comparing a busy hallway to a beehive.

Techniques

13 standards
Narrative Techniques
3.T.T.1.a
Explain how authors use storytelling techniques to share ideas, shape a story and show readers what they need to know about characters, setting and plot.
3.T.T.1.b
Explain the job that characters, setting, the problem and the solution each do in moving a story's plot along.
3.T.T.1.c
Describe what characters are like, what drives them and what they do, think and feel, and explain how that connects to the story's lesson or message.
3.T.T.1.d
Compare and contrast characters, settings, messages or events in stories from different cultures, like trickster tales from Africa and the Americas.
3.T.T.1.e
Write a true or invented story with characters, a setting, a resolved problem and dialogue, using vivid details, clear event order and an ending that feels complete.
Expository Techniques
3.T.T.2.a
Describe how informational texts are put together, including the facts and key details an author uses to back up the main idea.
3.T.T.2.b
Describe the links between historical events, science ideas or steps in a procedure in a text, like how one event caused the next or why steps follow an order.
3.T.T.2.c
Combine and explain what two texts on one topic say, connecting their important points and key details, like two books about sea turtles.
3.T.T.2.d
Write informational pieces that open with the topic, build it with facts, definitions, details and pictures, and close with a concluding sentence or section.
Opinion Techniques
3.T.T.3.a
Describe and discuss how opinion texts are built, like the sentence stating the author's opinion and the reasons and evidence that support it.
3.T.T.3.c
Write opinion pieces that introduce a topic, state their view, give reasons tied to it with words like therefore, since and for example, and end with a conclusion.
Poetic Techniques
3.T.T.4.a
Discuss and explain how poets build poems, including the pattern of rhyming lines, like every other line rhyming in a four-line stanza.
3.T.T.4.b
Write poems of at least two stanzas that use rhyme and other poetry techniques on purpose to create an effect and hold readers' interest.

Research & Analysis

5 standards
Research & Inquiry
3.T.RA.1.a
Write research questions about a topic they choose, then add follow-up questions as they learn, like asking why a volcano erupts after learning what one is.
3.T.RA.1.b
Research a topic they choose by finding, collecting, choosing and organizing facts from several trustworthy books, websites and interviews.
3.T.RA.1.c
Write a summary of accurate, on-topic facts gathered from at least two reliable sources about a topic they chose.
Curating Sources & Evidence
3.T.RA.2.a
Cite particular passages from a text to back up an idea, answer or opinion, like quoting the sentence that proves a character changed.
3.T.RA.2.b
Figure out what makes a source trustworthy and useful for a topic, and find examples, like a museum website versus an anonymous post.

The official Georgia documents

The plain-English lines on this page are EMStudio's own explanations of Georgia's standards, not the official wording, which Georgia Department of Education publishes in the documents above. Codes and strand names identify each standard.