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

Listening carefully and joining conversations helps students build the spoken language skills that make reading and writing easier. In third grade, this means following along during discussions, asking questions, and responding clearly when speaking with a group.

Students listen closely to spoken words, break them into individual sounds, blend those sounds back together, and swap or rearrange sounds to make new words.

Students figure out unfamiliar words by looking at surrounding sentences, breaking words into roots and prefixes, and checking a dictionary when needed.

Students read and write across the page from left to right, forming letters clearly enough for others to read.

Students decide why they are reading before they start. Knowing the purpose (to learn something new, to enjoy a story, or to find a specific answer) helps them pay closer attention as they read.

Before, during, and after reading, students ask their own questions about a text to better understand what they read. Asking questions helps students notice what they know, what confuses them, and what they want to find out.

Students guess what will happen next in a story or article, then check whether they were right as they keep reading. They use clues from the text itself, like chapter titles or how a story is set up, to guide those guesses.

Students read a story or passage and connect it to their own life, to something they've read before, or to the world around them. Those connections help them understand what they're reading more deeply.

Reading between the lines is a real skill. Students figure out what a story or passage means even when the author doesn't say it outright, then point to specific words or sentences that back up their thinking.

Students restate what a story or article says in their own words, keeping the main ideas in the right order without changing the meaning.

Students pull ideas from more than one book, article, or passage and combine what they learned into a new thought of their own. Reading one source is a start; reading several is how bigger ideas form.

When a passage stops making sense, students reread it, jot notes in the margin, or ask themselves questions until the meaning clicks. It's the habit of catching confusion and fixing it before moving on.

Students connect what they read to their own life. They pick texts they want to read and explain how the story, idea, or information relates to something they've seen, felt, or done.

Students read two texts and write about how they are alike and how they are different. This skill shows up in book reports, essays, and short answers where students pull details from the page to back up what they say.

Students find specific details or quotes from what they read to back up their answers. The support has to come from the text itself, not just what they already think or feel.

Students read a story or passage, then put it into their own words without changing what it means. They cover the key events or ideas, not every detail.

Students mark up a text, jot notes in the margins, or sketch a quick picture to hold onto their thinking while they read or write.

Students read stories, poems, and other texts and look at how the parts work together. They notice things like character, setting, and plot, and think about how those pieces shape the whole story.

Students look at how a story, poem, or informational passage is built and figure out why the author chose that shape. The structure of a text (chapters, stanzas, headings) changes what the writing means and how it feels to read.

Students identify what makes different kinds of writing work: how a nonfiction article is organized, how an opinion piece builds its case, and how a story is shaped. They learn to recognize each type by its structure and purpose.

Students look at why an author made specific choices, like how a story is told or which details are included, and figure out what those choices say to the reader.

Students look at how a text uses tools like headings, bold words, photos, and diagrams to help a reader find information or understand an idea.

Students look at why an author chose specific words, noticing what those words literally mean versus the feeling they carry. They also spot comparisons and descriptions that paint a picture in the reader's mind.

Stories use tools like repetition, rhyme, and imagery to pull readers in or set a mood. Students study how an author's word choices and patterns shape the way a story feels.

Students draft, revise, and clean up their writing more than once until the words are clear and readable. They practice this back-and-forth process across several different pieces of writing.

Students choose the right type of writing for their topic before they start drafting. A how-to piece, a story, and a letter each serve a different purpose, and this standard is about making that choice on purpose.

Students take a rough first draft and shape it into a clear, organized piece of writing. That means tightening the focus, building a structure that makes sense, and making sure each sentence connects to the one before it.

Students read back over their writing and make changes to strengthen it. That might mean adding details, reordering sentences, swapping a vague word for a sharper one, or cutting anything that muddles the point.

Students fix their own writing by checking for correct capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and grammar. This is the editing step, where small errors get cleaned up before a piece of writing is finished.

Students take a finished piece of writing and prepare it to share with a real reader, whether that's a classmate, a family member, or the whole class.

Students write their own stories and poems, using the moves that make each type of writing work: a clear narrator in a personal narrative, line breaks and imagery in a poem.

Students write nonfiction pieces that teach a reader something, using clear facts, organized paragraphs, and word choices that fit the topic.

Students write short pieces that argue for a position, giving reasons and details that support their opinion. They learn to organize a convincing argument from opening claim to closing sentence.

Students write letters, notes, or emails with a clear purpose, choosing words and details that fit who will read them. A thank-you note to a grandparent looks different from a message to a teacher.

Students come up with questions about a topic they want to learn more about, then sharpen those questions until they're clear enough to research or discuss.

Students make a simple plan for finding information on a topic, then collect sources that actually answer their question. A teacher or adult helps guide the process.

Students find books, websites, and other sources that actually answer their research question, then pull out the details that matter. They practice sorting useful information from everything else.

Students learn to tell the difference between a firsthand source (a diary, a photograph, an eyewitness account) and a secondhand source (a textbook, an article). They also decide how trustworthy each source is before using it in their work.

Students pull together information from multiple sources to answer a question, then note where each piece came from. They combine what they read or heard into one clear explanation in their own words.