What does a student learn in StateNevada,GradeGrade 3,SubjectEnglish Language Arts?

Students read a story and answer questions about it by pointing to the exact sentences or paragraphs that back up their answers. The evidence has to come straight from the page, not from memory or guessing.

Students retell a fable, folktale, or myth and identify the lesson the story is teaching. They point to specific moments in the story that show how that lesson comes through.

Students study a character in a story and describe what that character is like, what they want, and how they feel. Then students explain how the character's choices move the story forward.

Students figure out what words mean in a story, including phrases that don't mean exactly what they say. For example, "it's raining cats and dogs" means heavy rain, not actual animals falling from the sky.

Students learn to name the pieces of a story, play, or poem (like a chapter, scene, or stanza) and explain how each part connects to what came before it.

Students separate what they personally think from what a story's narrator or characters think. A character might believe something students disagree with, and students can name both views.

Students look at the pictures in a story and explain what those pictures add that the words alone don't fully show, like how a dark, stormy illustration makes a scene feel tense or scary.

Students read two books by the same author and look for what's different and what's the same. They compare the settings, what happens in each story, and the big lesson each one teaches.

Students read stories, plays, and poems that are challenging for their grade level, on their own and with solid understanding, by the end of third grade.

Students read a nonfiction passage and answer questions by pointing back to specific sentences or lines in the text. The answer has to come from the page, not from memory or guesswork.

Students find the main point of a nonfiction passage, then pick out the key details that back it up. They explain how those details connect to the main point in their own words.

Students read nonfiction passages and explain how one event or step leads to the next, using words like "first," "then," "because," and "as a result." The focus is on showing why things happened in that order, not just listing them.

Students figure out what unfamiliar words mean using clues in the surrounding sentences. This includes everyday school words and topic-specific vocabulary found in science, social studies, or other subjects.

Students use headings, sidebars, and keyword searches to find specific information in a nonfiction book or website without reading the whole thing.

Students read a nonfiction passage and decide whether they agree with the author's opinion or see it differently. Separating "what I think" from "what the author thinks" is the skill.

Students use photos, maps, and diagrams alongside the written words to piece together what a text is really saying. The pictures fill in details the words alone don't show.

Students explain how sentences and paragraphs in a nonfiction text connect to each other, such as one event causing another or steps happening in order.

Students read two books or articles on the same topic, then explain what the texts agree on and where they differ. The focus stays on the most important ideas, not small details.

By the end of third grade, students read nonfiction books and articles on their own, covering topics like history, science, and how things work, at the level expected for their grade.

Students use spelling patterns and word parts to sound out and read unfamiliar words on their own. This includes recognizing common prefixes, suffixes, and roots that help unlock the meaning of new words.

Students learn what common word parts like "un-," "re-," and "-ful" mean, then use them to figure out unfamiliar words. Knowing these building blocks helps students read and understand new words without stopping to look them up.

Students read words built with common Latin endings like -tion, -ment, and -ous. Recognizing these endings helps students figure out unfamiliar words without stopping to sound out every letter.

Students break longer words into parts and sound them out syllable by syllable. Think of words like "fantastic" or "important," where reading each chunk separately makes the whole word click.

Students read words that don't follow normal spelling rules, like "enough," "once," and "laughed," without sounding them out letter by letter.

Students read aloud smoothly and accurately enough to actually understand what the words mean together. The goal is not just saying words correctly but taking in the meaning as they read.

Students read third-grade passages with a clear reason in mind, not just to get through the words. They think about what the text means as they go.

Reading the same passage more than once, students practice until the words come out smoothly, at a natural pace, and with feeling. Each time through, they get a little closer to how a confident reader sounds.

When students hit a word that doesn't make sense, they reread the sentence and use the words around it to figure out the right meaning. It's a habit that makes reading smoother and more accurate over time.

Students pick a topic, state what they think about it, and back up that opinion with clear reasons. This is the foundation of persuasive writing.

Students open an opinion piece by naming the topic, stating what they think about it, and listing their reasons in order. It's the blueprint that holds the whole piece together.

Students write sentences that back up their opinion with reasons. Each reason should explain why they believe what they said in their opening.

Students use words like "because," "therefore," and "for example" to connect their opinion to the reasons that support it. These connecting words help a reader follow the argument from one idea to the next.

Students end an opinion piece with a closing sentence or short paragraph that wraps up their argument. It signals to the reader that the writing is finished, not just cut off.

Students pick a topic they know or have studied and write to explain it clearly. The writing teaches the reader something real, using facts and details instead of opinions or made-up events.

Students open an informational piece by naming the topic clearly, then group related facts together in a way that makes sense. When a picture or diagram helps readers understand something, students add one.

Students back up their main topic with real facts and specific details, not just opinions. They might explain what a word means or name something concrete that helps the reader understand.

Students use connector words like "also," "another," and "but" to stitch related ideas together inside a paragraph. These words help readers follow the logic from one sentence to the next.

Students end an informational piece with a closing sentence or paragraph that wraps up the main idea. It signals to the reader that the explanation is finished.

Students write a story, real or made-up, with a clear beginning, middle, and end. They use descriptive details to bring characters and events to life.

Students set up a story by introducing who it's about and where things begin, then arrange what happens in an order that makes sense. Think of it as building the "who, where, and then what" before the action takes off.

Students write what a character says, thinks, and feels to make the story's events feel real. Instead of just telling what happened, they show it through a character's words and reactions.

Students use words like "first," "then," "later," and "finally" to show readers what happens in what order. These time-order words hold the story together.

Stories need an ending, not just a stop. Students write a closing sentence or two that wraps up what happened and gives the reader a feeling the story is finished.

Students learn to match how they organize and develop their writing to the reason they're writing. A how-to piece looks different from a story, and a story looks different from an opinion paragraph.

Students learn to plan before they write, then go back and revise and edit with help from a teacher or classmate. The goal is stronger writing, not a perfect first draft.

With a teacher's help, students type their writing on a computer and share it with others. This is an early introduction to publishing work digitally and getting feedback from classmates.

Students pick a topic and gather information about it from books or other sources to answer a question or learn something new. The research is focused and short, not a semester-long paper.

Students find facts from books, websites, or their own experiences, jot down short notes, and organize what they find into categories their teacher has already set up.

Students write regularly, both in short bursts and over several days, for different reasons and different readers. Practice comes from variety: a quick response one day, a researched piece the next.

Students take turns talking about a story or topic with a partner, a small group, or the whole class. They listen closely enough to respond to what someone else said, not just wait to share their own idea.

Students read or study the material before a group discussion, then use what they learned to add something real to the conversation, not just listen and nod.

Students practice the basics of group conversation: raising a hand to speak, waiting their turn, and actually listening while someone else talks.

During a class discussion, students ask questions when something is unclear, keep their comments on topic, and connect what they say to what a classmate just said.

Students listen to what others say in a group discussion, then update or explain their own thinking based on what they heard. The goal is to show how the conversation shaped their ideas, not just repeat what they thought going in.

Students listen to a story, video, or presentation and identify the main point along with the key details that back it up.

Students listen to a speaker, then ask and answer questions about what they heard. They don't just say "yes" or "no" but add details that show they were paying attention.

Students pick a topic, story, or personal experience and explain it out loud using real facts and specific details. They speak clearly and at a pace listeners can follow.

Students record themselves reading a story or poem aloud, keeping a steady pace that's easy to follow. They can pair the recording with pictures or drawings to highlight key moments.

Students practice saying their answer in a full sentence, not just one or two words, when a teacher or classmate asks for more detail.

Students apply basic grammar rules when they write sentences or speak out loud. This includes using the right verb tenses, forming plurals correctly, and making subjects and verbs agree.

Students learn what nouns, pronouns, verbs, and adjectives do in a sentence, then explain why a specific word is doing that job in a real example.

Students practice making nouns plural, both the predictable ones (cat/cats) and the tricky ones that change spelling entirely (child/children, mouse/mice).

Abstract nouns name ideas or feelings you can't touch, like freedom, courage, or childhood. Students learn to spot and use these words in their writing.

Students practice using everyday verbs correctly, including tricky ones that don't follow the rules, like "ran" instead of "runned" or "wrote" instead of "writed."

Students practice writing the same action in past, present, and future tense. Knowing which form to use helps sentences say exactly when something happened, is happening, or will happen.

Students practice matching verbs and pronouns to the nouns they go with: "the dogs run" not "the dogs runs," and "Maya lost her book" not "Maya lost their book."

Students learn when to say "faster" versus "fastest" and how to pick the right form depending on whether they're comparing two things or a whole group.

Students learn to connect ideas using joining words like "and," "but," and "or," and linking words like "because," "when," and "although." These words show how two thoughts relate to each other inside a sentence.

Students write three kinds of sentences: a simple sentence with one idea, a compound sentence that joins two ideas with a word like "and" or "but," and a complex sentence that connects a main idea to a dependent one.

Students follow the basic rules of written English: capitalizing the right words, using commas and periods correctly, and spelling grade-level words accurately.

Students learn which words in a book or story title get a capital letter and which ones, like "and" or "the," stay lowercase.

Students learn to place a comma between the street, city, and state when writing an address. It is the same punctuation pattern seen on envelopes and letters.

Students learn to punctuate spoken words in a story correctly, putting quotation marks around what a character says and a comma before or after the quoted words.

Students learn when to add an apostrophe and "s" to show that something belongs to someone, like a dog's leash or a friend's book.

Students spell common everyday words correctly and know how to add endings like -ing, -ed, or -ness to a base word without misspelling it (for example, turning "sit" into "sitting" or "happy" into "happiness").

Students use patterns they already know, like word families or syllable rules, to spell unfamiliar words when writing. It's a strategy, not just memorization.

Students learn to look up a word in a dictionary when they aren't sure how to spell it, then fix the spelling if it's wrong.

Students choose words carefully to match how formal or casual a piece of writing needs to be. They notice how a text sounds and make deliberate word choices when they write or speak.

Students practice picking the exact word that makes a sentence stronger. They learn that swapping one word can change how a sentence feels or what it makes a reader picture.

Students practice noticing how written English follows different rules than spoken English. A sentence they might say out loud could sound fine but read awkwardly on paper, and this standard helps them spot that gap.

Students figure out what unfamiliar or tricky words mean by using context clues, word parts, or a dictionary. The goal is knowing which strategy to reach for and when.

Students use the surrounding words in a sentence to figure out what an unfamiliar word means. Instead of stopping at a confusing word, they read the whole sentence for clues.

Adding a prefix or suffix changes a word's meaning. Students use what they know about word parts like "un-," "re-," or "-less" to figure out unfamiliar words without looking them up.

Students use a word they already know to figure out the meaning of an unfamiliar word that shares the same root. For example, knowing "act" helps decode "action" or "react."

Students look up unfamiliar words in a dictionary or glossary, print or digital, to find the exact meaning. This is the word-lookup habit that carries through every grade.

Students study how words relate to each other and how small differences in meaning matter. They learn that "chilly" and "freezing" both mean cold but not in the same way.

Words can mean exactly what they say, or something completely different. Students learn to spot the difference, like knowing "break a leg" means good luck, not an actual broken leg.

Students connect vocabulary words to real people, places, and situations they know. For example, they think of someone who is actually generous or brave, not just a word on a page.

Students sort words like "knew," "suspected," and "wondered" to understand how sure or unsure someone feels. A small word choice can shift the meaning of a whole sentence.

Students learn and correctly use words that fit three levels: everyday conversation, school subjects in general, and specific topics like science or history. This includes words that show time and place, like "after," "before," and "nearby."