Colorado State Standards for Language Arts: Grade 3

CO.1. Oral Expression and Listening

1.1. Successful group activities need the cooperation of everyone. Students can:

1.1.a. Demonstrate active listening by asking relevant questions, responding appropriately to information given, and summarizing what was said or learned

1.1.b. Follow agreed-upon rules for class discussions and small group work (such as taking turns, including all members, assuming roles, listening to opinions of others)

1.1.c. Use eye contact, volume, and tone appropriate to audience and purpose

1.1.d. Use different types of complete sentences to share information, give directions, or request information

1.2. Oral communication is used both informally and formally. Students can:

1.2.a. Distinguish different levels of formality

1.2.b. Speak clearly, using appropriate volume and pitch for the purpose and audience

1.2.c. Speak at an understandable rate, demonstrating awareness of audience (e.g., pausing, making eye contact, asking questions)

1.2.d. Select and organize ideas sequentially or around major points of information that relate to the formality of the audience

1.2.e. Use grammatically correct language for the audience and specific vocabulary to communicate ideas and supporting details

CO.2. Reading for All Purposes

2.1. Strategies are needed to make meaning of various types of literary genres. Students can:

2.1.a. Describe and draw inferences about the elements of plot, character, and setting in literary pieces, poems, and plays

2.1.b. Summarize central ideas and important details from literary text

2.1.c. Use signal words (such as before, after, next) and text structure (narrative, chronology) to determine the sequence of major events

2.1.d. Use a variety of comprehension strategies to interpret text (attending, searching, predicting, checking, and self-correcting)

2.1.e. Read grade level text accurately and fluently, attending to phrasing, intonation, and punctuation

2.2. Comprehension strategies are necessary when reading informational or persuasive text. Students can:

2.2.a. Use text features (such as bold type, titles, headings, captions, table of contents, graphics) to locate and organize information and to make predictions

2.2.b. Use informational text structures (sequence, cause/effect) to predict, construct meaning, and deepen understanding

2.2.c. Locate information to support opinions, predictions, and conclusions

2.2.d. Use semantic cues and signal words (because, although) to identify cause/effect and compare/contrast relationships

2.2.e. Adjust reading rate according to type of text and purpose for reading

2.3. Increasing word understanding, word use, and word relationships increases vocabulary. Students can:

2.3.a. Read multisyllabic words with accuracy and fluency in context

2.3.b. Determine meanings of words, including content specific words using a variety of strategies (such as context) and resources

2.3.c. Use knowledge of word relationships to identify antonyms or synonyms to clarify meaning

2.3.d. Categorize words (by function, descriptive characteristics or features, definition)

2.3.e. Use knowledge of word structure, including prefixes, suffixes, and base words, to determine meanings of unfamiliar words and to make new words

CO.3. Writing and Composition

3.1. A writing process is used to plan, draft, and write a variety of literary genres. Students can:

3.1.a. Brainstorm ideas for writing

3.1.b. Organize ideas using pictures, graphic organizers, or story maps

3.1.c. Effectively use plan to create drafts

3.1.d. Write personal narratives or simple stories including characters, setting, sensory details, and logical sequence of events

3.1.e. Write descriptive poems using figurative language

3.2. A writing process is used to plan, draft, and write a variety of informational texts. Students can:

3.2.a. Write a short explanation of a process (science investigation, ''how-to'' summary) that includes a topic statement, logical sequencing, supporting details, and a conclusion

3.2.b. Write brief summary paragraphs of information gathered through research (observations, interviews, reading)

3.2.c. Group ideas logically (bulleted lists, predictable categories for a summary report, steps of a procedure, order of importance) while creating informational texts

3.2.d. Use appropriate transition words or phrases to connect ideas

3.2.e. State main ideas and include sufficient details or facts for appropriate depth of information (naming, describing, explaining, comparing, use of visual images)

3.3. Correct grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling are used when writing. Students can:

3.3.a. Use apostrophes to show possession

3.3.b. Indent paragraphs

3.3.c. Spell high-frequency words correctly

3.3.d. Spell words that follow learned rules and patterns with accuracy

3.3.e. Apply accurate subject-verb agreement

3.3.f. Write with precise nouns, active verbs, descriptive adjectives, and adverbs to enhance writing

3.3.g. Use commas correctly (after transitional words or phrases, to separate items in a series)

3.3.h. Apply correct use of capitalization

3.3.i. Vary sentence beginnings, and use long and short sentences to create sentence fluency in longer texts

CO.4. Research and Reasoning

4.1. Researching a topic and sharing findings are often done with others. Students can:

4.1.a. Interpret and communicate the information learned by developing a brief summary with supporting details

4.1.b. Develop supporting visual information (charts, maps, illustrations, models)

4.1.c. Present a brief report of the research findings to an audience

4.2. Inferences and points of view exist. Students can:

4.2.a. Recognize that different sources may have different points of view

4.2.b. Assess points of view using fairness, relevance, and breadth

4.2.c. Determine the clarity, relevance, and accuracy of information

4.2.d. Recognize that all thinking contains inferences from which we draw conclusions and give meaning to data and situations

4.2.e. Assess inferences for accuracy and fairness

4.2.f. Recognize what they know and don't know (intellectual humility)

CO.5. Prepared Graduate Competencies in Reading, Writing, and Communicating: The preschool through twelfth-grade concepts and skills that all students who complete the Colorado education system must master to ensure their success in a postsecondary and workforce setting.

5.1. Collaborate effectively as group members or leaders who listen actively and respectfully pose thoughtful questions, acknowledge the ideas of others, and contribute ideas to further the group's attainment of an objective

5.2. Deliver organized and effective oral presentations for diverse audiences and varied purposes

5.3. Use language appropriate for purpose and audience

5.4. Demonstrate skill in inferential and evaluative listening

5.5. Interpret how the structure of written English contributes to the pronunciation and meaning of complex vocabulary

5.6. Demonstrate comprehension of a variety of informational, literary, and persuasive texts

5.7. Evaluate how an author uses words to create mental imagery, suggest mood, and set tone

5.8. Read a wide range of literature (American and world literature) to understand important universal themes and the human experience

5.9. Seek feedback, self-assess, and reflect on personal learning while engaging with increasingly more difficult texts

5.10. Engage in a wide range of nonfiction and real-life reading experiences to solve problems, judge the quality of ideas, or complete daily tasks

5.11. Write with a clear focus, coherent organization, sufficient elaboration, and detail

5.12. Effectively use content-specific language, style, tone, and text structure to compose or adapt writing for different audiences and purposes

5.13. Apply standard English conventions to effectively communicate with written language

5.14. Implement the writing process successfully to plan, revise, and edit written work

5.15. Master the techniques of effective informational, literary, and persuasive writing

5.16. Discriminate and justify a position using traditional lines of rhetorical argument and reasoning

5.17. Articulate the position of self and others using experiential and material logic

5.18. Gather information from a variety of sources; analyze and evaluate the quality and relevance of the source; and use it to answer complex questions

5.19. Use primary, secondary, and tertiary written sources to generate and answer research questions

5.20. Evaluate explicit and implicit viewpoints, values, attitudes, and assumptions concealed in speech, writing, and illustration

5.21. Demonstrate the use of a range of strategies, research techniques, and persistence when engaging with difficult texts or examining complex problems or issues

5.22. Exercise ethical conduct when writing, researching, and documenting sources