Grade 3 English (Virginia SOL)

Foundations for Reading (FFR)

• 3.FFR.1 Print concepts – see Kindergarten.
• 3.FFR.2 Phonological and phonemic awareness – see Kindergarten to Grade 2.
• 3.FFR.3 Apply grade-level phonics and word analysis to decode and encode unfamiliar words.
• Decode and encode words with vowel teams and r-controlled vowels.
• Use syllable division and syllable types to decode and encode words.
• Use prefixes and suffixes to decode and encode words.
• Read grade-level high-frequency words accurately and automatically.

Developing Skilled Readers and Building Reading Stamina (DSR)

• 3.DSR Build knowledge and comprehension from challenging, content-rich texts, using strategies when understanding breaks down.
• Read grade-level texts accurately and fluently, self-correcting as needed.
• Understand literary and informational texts in the upper part of the grades 2–3 complexity band.
• Support discussion and writing with accurate evidence from grade-level texts.
• Regularly listen to sets of related texts on a topic to build knowledge and vocabulary.
• Use reading strategies such as summarizing and questioning when a text becomes challenging.

Reading and Vocabulary (RV)

• Build vocabulary and word knowledge systematically from grade 3 content and texts.
• 3.RV.1 Build academic and content vocabulary through word analysis, context, and reference tools.
• Develop academic and subject-specific vocabulary through reading and discussion.
• Discuss the meanings of complex words and phrases from conversation and literature.
• Work out complex word meanings using root words and inflectional endings.
• Use sentence context to choose between homophones.
• Use morphology, synonyms, and antonyms to work out complex word meanings.
• Build vocabulary by listening to and reading high-quality, complex text.
• Distinguish shades of meaning among verbs and adjectives.
• Use strategies to infer word meanings.
• Use print or digital glossaries, dictionaries, and thesauruses to clarify words.
• Use newly learned words and phrases in discussion and speaking.

Reading Literary Text (RL)

• Use textual evidence to show comprehension of grade-level literary texts, with a focus on folklore and tall tales.
• 3.RL.1 Key ideas: theme topics, conflict and resolution, and character development.
• Identify thematic topics of stories and the lessons learned.
• Identify the central conflict and resolution and use plot events to summarize.
• Describe characters' traits, motives, and feelings and how they develop.
• 3.RL.2 Craft and style: characters, setting, sensory language, narrator, and genre.
• Discuss how characters and settings move the plot forward.
• Explain how sensory language shapes understanding of characters, settings, and events.
• Identify the narrator of a story and the speaker of a poem.
• Identify the features of different genres.
• 3.RL.3 Integrate concepts: purpose for reading, paired texts, and stories by the same author.
• Set a purpose for reading using illustrations and prior knowledge.
• Compare and contrast details in paired literary and informational texts on similar themes.
• Compare and contrast themes, settings, and plots of stories by the same author.

Reading Informational Text (RI)

• Use textual evidence to show comprehension of grade-level informational texts.
• 3.RI.1 Key ideas: main idea, summary, and the author's reasons and evidence.
• Find the main idea of a multi-paragraph text and of individual paragraphs.
• Summarize texts using language of time, sequence, and cause and effect.
• Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support points.
• 3.RI.2 Craft and style: text structures, text features, search tools, and author's purpose.
• Describe how informational text structures differ and the effect of each.
• Use text features and search tools to find information efficiently.
• Identify the author's purpose, including what the author wants to answer or describe.
• 3.RI.3 Integrate concepts: background knowledge, comparing texts, and describing connections.
• Use prior experience and background knowledge as context for new learning.
• Compare and contrast key points and details from two texts on the same topic.
• Describe connections among historical events, scientific ideas, or steps in technical procedures.
• Show understanding by writing about a text, using it as support.

Foundations for Writing (FFW)

• Print legibly and write in cursive while spelling grade-level words correctly.
• 3.FFW.1 Keep printing legible and form cursive letters correctly with flow.
• Keep printing legible.
• Write correctly formed capital and lowercase cursive letters.
• Sign first and last name.
• Join cursive letters with flow in names and words.
• 3.FFW.2 Spell multisyllabic words, words with affixes, and high-frequency words.
• Spell multisyllabic words using sound-symbol correspondence.
• Spell words with common affixes.
• Spell grade-level high-frequency words accurately and automatically.

Writing (W)

• Compose texts for different audiences and purposes linked to grade 3 content.
• 3.W.1 Modes and purposes: narrative, expository, opinion, and responses to texts.
• Recognize that narrative, expository, and opinion writing each have their own structure.
• Write personal or imagined narratives with a natural sequence of events.
• Write informative texts that examine a topic with facts and details.
• Write opinion pieces that support a point of view with facts and reasons.
• Write responses to texts using supporting details from the text.
• 3.W.2 Write well-developed paragraphs using a writing process.
• Write paragraphs with a topic sentence, supporting details, transitions, and a conclusion.
• 3.W.3 Revise and edit writing with guidance from peers and adults.
• With guidance, revise for ideas, organization, sentence fluency, and word choice.
• Edit for format and conventions: capitalisation, usage, punctuation, and spelling.

Language Usage (LU)

• Use Standard English conventions in speaking and writing and tell formal from informal contexts.
• 3.LU.1 Grammar: sentence structure, adjectives, verbs, agreement, and double negatives.
• Produce, expand, and rearrange simple and compound sentences.
• Tell complete sentences from incomplete ones.
• Form and use comparative and superlative adjectives.
• Form and use regular and irregular verbs.
• Use subject-verb agreement in simple sentences.
• Avoid double negatives in speaking and writing.
• 3.LU.2 Mechanics: commas, apostrophes, capitals, spelling, and reference tools.
• Use commas in series, dates, addresses, and letter greetings and closings.
• Use apostrophes in contractions and common possessives.
• Capitalise holidays, names, and places.
• Use learned spelling patterns and word analysis.
• Use beginner dictionaries to check and correct spelling.

Communication and Multimodal Literacies (C)

• Develop oral communication and collaboration skills to make sense of content together.
• 3.C.1 Take part in collaborative discussions using agreed rules and building on others' ideas.
• Listen actively, follow discussion rules, build on ideas, ask questions, and stay engaged.
• 3.C.2 Report orally in an organized way with details, facts, and suitable language.
• Report orally with descriptive details, audible speech, and language that suits the audience.
• 3.C.3 Integrating multimodal literacies.
• Create a simple presentation using multimodal tools that support the topic.
• 3.C.4 Examining media messages – introduced in Grade 4.

Research (R)

• Conduct research using related texts and sources to build knowledge and solve problems.
• 3.R.1 Ask questions, find and organize sources, and share findings without plagiarising.
• Identify a topic and write questions to explore it.
• Locate information in reference texts, electronic sources, or interviews and take brief notes.
• Sort evidence into categories, recognizing that some sources are more reliable than others.
• Share information orally, in writing, or visually.
• Avoid plagiarism by crediting sources, including title and author where available.