Literacy Skills by Grade: Third Grade

Your third grader is enjoying summer break, and you're looking forward to their entry into the fourth grade in the fall. What should they have mastered in terms of literacy skills by this time?

The American Speech Hearing Association* suggests third grade children should be able to use clues from a story and other words to determine the meaning of new words. They should be able to ask and answer questions about a book, holding a basic conversation about the story. A third grader should use what they know to understand new material. Finally, their reading should be smooth without many pauses.

As for writing, expect a third grader to plan and edit what they write, and use details in their writings. They should be able to write letters, short reports, stories and simple explanations. Their spelling should be good, spelling simple words correctly and correcting most of their spelling mistakes. By this time, they should have experience writing in cursive and their cursive writing should be neat.

Check to see if your third grader meets these literacy progression milestones. With summer break here, you can use the time to enhance their literacy skills and prepare them for the fourth grade.

* "Watch My Literacy Skills Grow: Third Grade.", American Speech Hearing Association. 25 May 2018. https://www.asha.org/uploadedImages/Literacy-Skills-Third-Grade.jpg