Pennsylvania Standards
Pennsylvania 3rd Grade ELA Standards
All 56 Pennsylvania English language arts standards for 3rd grade, each explained in plain English. The official wording is in Pennsylvania Department of Education's document, linked at the end of this page.
56 standards
Foundational Skills
2 standardsCC.1.1.3.D
Say the main sound of each consonant, know the long and short sounds of a, e, i, o and u, and read common sight words like the, of and you.
CC.1.1.3.E
Understand third-grade texts read for a purpose, read them aloud accurately and expressively at a fitting pace on repeat tries, and self-correct using context.
Reading Informational Text
12 standardsCC.1.2.3.A
Find the main idea of an informational text, retell its key details, and explain how those details back up the main idea.
CC.1.2.3.B
Ask and answer questions about a nonfiction text, make inferences from it, and point to the parts of the text that back up each answer.
CC.1.2.3.C
Explain how events, ideas or steps in a nonfiction text link together, using time, order and cause-and-effect words like first, then and because.
CC.1.2.3.D
Explain what the author of a nonfiction text thinks or wants readers to believe about the topic, like a writer who wants parks protected.
CC.1.2.3.E
Find and make sense of information using text features like sidebars, key words and maps, or online search tools and hyperlinks.
CC.1.2.3.F
Work out word meanings in third-grade nonfiction, tell literal from nonliteral uses, and notice small differences between related words, like warm and hot.
CC.1.2.3.G
Use what maps, photos and diagrams in a nonfiction text show to explain its meaning, like where and how a river floods.
CC.1.2.3.H
Describe how a writer links sentences and paragraphs so they back up specific points, like comparing two animals or giving steps in order.
CC.1.2.3.I
Read two books or articles on the same topic, such as two about sharks, and tell how their big points and details are alike and different.
CC.1.2.3.J
Learn and correctly use third-grade everyday, school and subject words, including place and time words like beneath, during and after, in nonfiction.
CC.1.2.3.K
Work out unknown or double-meaning words in third-grade nonfiction by choosing the best strategy, like context, prefixes or a glossary.
CC.1.2.3.L
Read third-grade history, science and how-to texts independently and understand them well.
Reading Literature
11 standardsCC.1.3.3.A
Figure out the main lesson or moral of a story and explain which details in the story get that message across.
CC.1.3.3.B
Ask and answer questions about a story, draw conclusions it only hints at, and show which words in it support each answer.
CC.1.3.3.C
Describe a story’s characters and explain how what they do moves the plot from one event to the next.
CC.1.3.3.D
Explain the author’s point of view in a story or poem, like how the writer seems to feel about the characters or events.
CC.1.3.3.E
Talk and write about a text by naming its parts, like chapters, scenes and stanzas, and describe how each new part adds to what came earlier.
CC.1.3.3.F
Figure out what words mean in a third-grade story, tell when a phrase is not meant literally, like a heart of gold, and sense how glad and thrilled differ.
CC.1.3.3.G
Explain what a story’s pictures add to its words, such as making a scene feel scary or showing how small a character is.
CC.1.3.3.H
Tell how stories by one writer featuring the same or similar characters are alike and different in theme, setting and plot, like books in a series.
CC.1.3.3.I
Use whichever tool fits, like sentence clues, root words or a dictionary, to figure out unknown or multiple-meaning words in third-grade stories.
CC.1.3.3.J
Pick up and accurately use third-grade words from stories and discussion, including words for where and when, like behind, across and meanwhile.
CC.1.3.3.K
Read third-grade fiction, like chapter books and fables, on their own and understand it well.
Writing
24 standardsCC.1.4.3.A
Write an informative piece that introduces a topic, groups related facts and definitions, links them with words like also, and closes with a final sentence.
CC.1.4.3.B
Open an informative piece by naming the topic and telling readers what it will cover, like the life cycle of a frog.
CC.1.4.3.C
Build the topic with facts, definitions, details and pictures where they help, like a labeled drawing of a frog’s life stages.
CC.1.4.3.D
Organize an informative piece by grouping related facts, linking them in a sensible order, and ending with a concluding sentence or section.
CC.1.4.3.E
Choose exact, interesting words in informative writing, like slithers instead of moves, to make facts clear for readers.
CC.1.4.3.F
Use third-grade grammar, capital letters, punctuation and spelling correctly in informative writing, like commas in a list of facts.
CC.1.4.3.G
Write opinion pieces about familiar subjects or books, like whether a favorite book’s ending was fair.
CC.1.4.3.H
Open an opinion piece by introducing the topic and clearly stating what they believe, like every class should have a pet.
CC.1.4.3.I
Give reasons that back up their opinion, like a class pet teaches responsibility and makes the room more fun.
CC.1.4.3.J
Organize an opinion piece with reasons in a sensible, connected order and a concluding sentence or section at the end.
CC.1.4.3.K
Vary their words and sentence types, like questions and exclamations, to draw readers into an opinion piece.
CC.1.4.3.L
Follow third-grade grammar, capitalization, punctuation and spelling rules in opinion writing, like capitalizing the title of a book they are reviewing.
CC.1.4.3.M
Write real or imagined stories that develop events with detail, like a camping trip that goes wrong.
CC.1.4.3.N
Open a story by setting the scene and introducing who is telling it or who is in it, like a girl stuck in an elevator.
CC.1.4.3.O
Bring story events to life with dialogue and descriptions of what characters do, think and feel, showing how they react to what happens.
CC.1.4.3.P
Let story events unfold in a natural order, using time words and phrases like later that day, and give the story a satisfying ending.
CC.1.4.3.Q
Pick strong words and phrases to set a story’s mood, like creaky stairs and a howling wind for a spooky scene.
CC.1.4.3.R
Use correct third-grade grammar, capitals, punctuation and spelling in stories, like quotation marks around what characters say.
CC.1.4.3.S
Use evidence from stories and nonfiction to support what they write when analyzing, reflecting or researching, using third-grade reading skills.
CC.1.4.3.T
With help from classmates and adults, improve their writing by planning it first, then revising and editing, like adding details and fixing spelling.
CC.1.4.3.U
With help, type, publish and share writing on a computer using keyboarding skills, and use technology to work with others.
CC.1.4.3.V
Do a short research project on one topic, like reading a few books about honeybees and writing down what was learned.
CC.1.4.3.W
Gather facts from memory, books or websites, jot short notes, and sort them into the categories the teacher gives, like food and habitat.
CC.1.4.3.X
Write regularly, from a report built over several days to a journal entry finished in one class, for different subjects, purposes and readers.
Speaking and Listening
7 standardsCC.1.5.3.A
Contribute to partner, small-group and class discussions about third-grade topics and books, building on classmates’ ideas and stating their own clearly.
CC.1.5.3.B
Find the main ideas and supporting details in a read-aloud or in information shown through pictures, numbers, charts or speech.
CC.1.5.3.C
Question a speaker about the information in their talk and respond to questions with the right amount of detail, like after a firefighter’s visit.
CC.1.5.3.D
Give a talk on a topic or book, tell a story or describe an experience with fitting facts and details, speaking clearly, loudly enough and not too fast.
CC.1.5.3.E
Use full sentences when a task calls for it, to add asked-for details or explain more clearly, like answering a teacher’s follow-up question.
CC.1.5.3.F
Record themselves reading a story or poem smoothly and at a good pace, and add a picture or chart when it helps make a point.
CC.1.5.3.G
Use third-grade grammar correctly when speaking, like choosing the right verb tense and comparing with better and best.
The official Pennsylvania documents
- Pennsylvania Core Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics · adopted February 2014 · since March 2014
The plain-English lines on this page are EMStudio's own explanations of Pennsylvania's standards, not the official wording, which Pennsylvania Department of Education publishes in the documents above. Codes and strand names identify each standard.