What a 3rd grader learns in math and reading

3rd grade · the Common Core skills, in plain words · updated 2026-11-02

This is the whole list: 25 math skills and 18 reading skills a 3rd grader is expected to learn, with the Common Core code next to each one. In math, 3rd grade is mostly operations and algebraic thinking, measurement and data, numbers in base ten. In reading, the weight is on language and literature.

Math: 3rd grade

Operations and algebraic thinking

• Times tables 3.OA.C.7 — Break it up. 7 × 8 is 7 × 4, then double it.
• Times as a picture 3.OA.A.1 — 3 × 4 means 3 rows with 4 in each row. Count the rows first.
• Dividing 3.OA.A.2 — Turn it around. What times the second number gives you the first?
• Times and divide stories 3.OA.A.3 — Equal groups? Times. Sharing equally? Divide.
• Missing factor 3.OA.A.4 — Use the fact you know. What times this number gives that one?
• Swap, group, split 3.OA.B.5 — Swapping, grouping or splitting the numbers never changes a times answer.
• Divide with times 3.OA.B.6 — Dividing asks: what times this makes that?
• Two-step stories 3.OA.D.8 — Do the first part of the story, then the second.
• Number patterns 3.OA.D.9 — Look at two numbers next to each other. How far apart are they?

Numbers in base ten

• Rounding 3.NBT.A.1 — Look at the digit to the right. 5 or more rounds up.
• Adding and taking away to 1000 3.NBT.A.2 — Start with the ones. Trade a ten if you need to.
• Times tens 3.NBT.A.3 — Do the fact without the zero, then put the zero back.

Fractions

• Parts of a whole 3.NF.A.1 — The bottom number is how many pieces there are in all.
• Fractions on a line 3.NF.A.2 — The bottom number is how many parts. The top is how many marks you walked.
• Comparing fractions 3.NF.A.3 — Same top? Fewer pieces means bigger pieces. Same bottom? More pieces is more.

Measurement and data

• How long it takes 3.MD.A.1 — Count the minutes from the start time to the end time.
• Liters and kilograms 3.MD.A.2 — Read the story. Equal groups mean times. Two amounts together mean add.
• Graphs with a scale 3.MD.B.3 — Look at the numbers under the graph. Each step is more than 1.
• Half and quarter inches 3.MD.B.4 — Each X is one ribbon. Find the length first, then count the Xs.
• Square units 3.MD.C.5 — Each square is one square unit. Count every square once.
• Counting area 3.MD.C.6 — Count one row, then count by that number for each row.
• Area 3.MD.C.7 — Area is rows times columns.
• Perimeter 3.MD.D.8 — Add all four sides. Two long, two short.

Geometry

• Four-sided shapes 3.G.A.1 — A quadrilateral has 4 straight sides. Count the sides.
• Equal parts of a shape 3.G.A.2 — Count the equal parts. One part is 1 over that number.

Reading: 3rd grade

Reading foundations

• Long words RF.3.3c — Break a long word into parts. Read each part, then put them together.
• Prefixes and suffixes RF.3.3a — Find the root word first. Then see what the prefix or suffix adds.

Language

• Parts of speech L.3.1a — Noun: a thing. Verb: an action. Adjective: describes a noun. Adverb: describes an action.
• Plural nouns L.3.1b — Words ending in s, x, sh or ch add -es. Words ending in consonant + y change y to i and add -es.
• Verb tenses L.3.1e — Past: it happened. Present: it happens. Future: it will happen.
• Subject-verb agreement L.3.1f — One thing: the dog runs. More than one: the dogs run.
• Comparing words L.3.1g — -er compares two. -est compares three or more.
• Joining words L.3.1h — and adds. but shows a difference. so shows a result. because gives a reason.
• Quotation marks L.3.2c — Quotation marks go around the exact words someone says. The comma goes inside.
• Possessives L.3.2d — One owner: the dog's bone. More than one owner: the dogs' bones.
• Context clues L.3.4a — Read the words around the new word. They give clues to what it means.
• Root words L.3.4c — Find the smaller word inside: helpful has help.
• Literal or not L.3.5a — Literal means exactly what the words say. Nonliteral means a picture in words.

Literature

• Message of a story RL.3.2 — What is the story trying to teach you about life?
• Character traits RL.3.3 — What the character does and says shows what kind of person they are.
• Point of view RL.3.6 — Who is telling the story? I and me means a character is telling it.

Informational text

• Main idea and details RI.3.2 — The main idea is what all the sentences are about. Details support it.
• How ideas connect RI.3.8 — Look for words like first, then, because and so.

Reading practice includes 30 short texts at this level, among them 6 science and 6 history passages, with questions that check understanding.

How Teach Me uses this list

The check asks a few questions from this grade and the ones around it to find where your child really is, which is often not the grade on the door. Each day's set then comes from the skills they have not got yet. A skill counts as known when they get it right on their own, more than once. Parents see which skills are open and which are solid, and can point the practice at any topic above.

Teach Me is free. It follows the Common Core State Standards for math and English language arts; high school math follows California's traditional pathway (Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Precalculus).

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