Grade 3 ELA NJSLS Standards

Speaking and Listening Domain

Writing Domain

Reading Domain

Sentence Composition (Grammar, Syntax, and Punctuation)

Spelling

Foundational Skills: Writing Language

Fluency

Phonics and Word Recognition

Foundational Skills: Reading Language

Language Domain

Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.

Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate conversational, general academic, and domain-specific words and phrases.

Choose words and phrases for effect.

Recognize and observe differences between the conventions of spoken and written English.

Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding and encoding words.

Identify and know the meaning of the most common prefixes and derivational suffixes.

Decode words with common Latin suffixes.

Decode multisyllable words.

Read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.

Analyze the parts of high-frequency words that are regular and the parts that are irregular.

Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.

Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression.

Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in word meanings.

Distinguish the literal and nonliteral meanings of words and phrases in context (e.g., take steps).

Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., describe people who are friendly or helpful).

Distinguish shades of meaning among related words that describe states of mind or degrees of certainty (e.g., knew, believed, suspected, heard, wondered).

Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning academic and domain-specific words and phrases based on grade 3 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a known affix is added to a known word (e.g., agreeable/disagreeable, comfortable/uncomfortable, care/careless, heat/preheat).

Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root (e.g., company, companion).

Use glossaries or beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the precise meaning of key words and phrases.

Demonstrate command of the conventions of encoding and spelling.

Spell single syllable words with less common and complex graphemes (ough, augh; -old, -ind, -ost, -ild families).

Use digital or print tools such as a dictionary or thesaurus to check spellings of unknown words.

Identify language of word origin, as noted in dictionaries.

Spell singular and plural possessives (teacher’s; teachers’)

Change y to i (cried) in words with suffixes, when required

Spell regular two- and three-syllable words that:i. Combine all basic syllable types: closed, VCe, open, vowel team, vowel –r, Consonant-le. ii. Include common, transparent, prefixes and suffixes (e.g., re-, pre-, sub-, un-, dis-, mis-; -able, -ness, -ful) and suffix -tion.

Spell common words in English, including regular and irregular forms.

Demonstrate command of the conventions of writing including those listed under grade two foundational skills.

Improve communication of meaning by replacing weak verbs with stronger ones, and common nouns with precise nouns.

Capitalize appropriate words in titles.

Choose and maintain consistency of tense, writing nouns and verbs that agree in tense.

Use common regular and irregular plural forms, writing nouns and verbs that agree in number.

Use appropriate pronouns with clear referents.

Use periods, question marks, exclamation points, commas, apostrophes, and quotation marks appropriately. (e.g., commas and quotation marks in dialogue, and commas in addresses).

Combine simple sentences into compound sentences, using conjunctions and, but, or, yet, and so.

Paraphrase a main idea or event in order to vary sentence structure and word use.

Organize ideas into paragraphs with main ideas and supporting details.

Describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison, cause/effect, first/second/third in a sequence) to support specific points the author makes in a text.

Recount in oral and written form the key details from a multi-paragraph informational text and explain how they support the main idea.

Ask and answer questions and make relevant connections to demonstrate understanding of an informational text, referring explicitly to textual evidence as the basis for the answers.

Compare and contrast the elements of informational texts regarding the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.

Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.

Use information gained from text features (e.g., illustrations, maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).

Distinguish their own point of view from that of the author of a text.

Utilize and reference features of a text when writing or speaking about a text, using text features (e.g., graphics, images, captions, headings) and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate and integrate information relevant to a given topic efficiently. '

Recount in oral and written form key details from a text and explain how they support the theme (in literary texts, e.g., fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures).

Ask and answer questions and make relevant connections to demonstrate understanding of a literary text, referring explicitly to textual evidence as the basis for the answers.

Compare and contrast the elements (theme, settings, and plots) of literary texts written by the same author about similar characters (e.g., in books from a series).

Describe the development of individual character’s traits, motivations, or feelings and explain how their actions contribute to the plot within a text.

Explain how specific aspects of a text’s illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting).

Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or those of the characters.

Utilize and reference features of a text when writing or speaking about a text, referring to parts of stories, dramas, and poems, using terms such as chapter, scene, and stanza; describe how each successive part builds on earlier sections.

Speak in complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification.

Ask and answer questions about information from a speaker, offering appropriate elaboration and detail.

Determine the main ideas and supporting details of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

Explicitly draw on previously read text or material and other information known about the topic to explore ideas under discussion.

Follow agreed-upon norms for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).

Ask questions to check understanding of information presented, stay on topic, and link their comments to the remarks of others.

Explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.

Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace

Use multimedia to demonstrate fluid reading at an understandable pace; add visual displays when appropriate to emphasize or enhance certain facts or details

Write opinion texts to present an idea with reasons and information.

Introduce an opinion clearly.

Support the opinion with facts, definitions, reasons text evidence, or other information and examples related to the topic.

Link ideas within sections of information using transition words and phrases (e.g., then, because, also, therefore, since, for example) to connect opinion and reasons.

Provide a conclusion related to the opinion presented.

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

Introduce a topic clearly.

Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and concrete details, text evidence, or other information and examples related to the topic.

Include text features (e.g.: illustrations, diagrams, captions) when useful to support comprehension.

Link ideas within sections of information using transition words and phrases (e.g., then, because, also, another, therefore).

Provide a conclusion related to the information or explanation presented.

Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events with basic story elements.

Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introduce a narrator and/or characters; clearly organize an event sequence.

Use dialogue and description to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations.

Use transitional words and phrases to manage the sequence of events.

Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events.

Provide a conclusion or sense of closure that follows the narrated experiences or events.

Engage in independent and task-based writing for both short and extended periods of time, producing written work routinely.

Use discussion, books, or media resources to gather ideas, outline them, and prioritize the information to include while planning to write about a topic.

With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.

Identify audience, purpose, and intended length of composition before writing.

Consider writing as a process, including self-evaluation, revision and editing.

With adult and peer feedback, and digital or print tools such as a dictionary, thesaurus, and/or spell checker, find and correct errors and improve word choice.

Generate questions about a topic and independently locate related information from at least two reference sources (print and non-print) to obtain information on that topic.