things-you-should-know-before-entering-third-grade By third grade, children have spent two years learning and comprehending basic math and reading skills. In third grade, children will learn to expand what they have learned to do more complex computations and problems. Reading is a huge focus in third grade. Children are expected to have gained a lot of “learning to read” skills so they can apply it to reading comprehension (reading to learn). Children have already started gaining vocabulary and fluency skills, so these skills in third grade are expected to grow even more.

Here is an example checklist of what a child needs to know before starting third grade.

Reading and Reading Comprehension Skills

How to collect information about a topic
How to read different styles of text (articles, short stories, short chapters in a book)
Ask appropriate questions and answer questions about a text (who, what, where, when, why, and how)
Read fables, folktales, and myths
Recall and retell events from a story in order
Tell how the author uses details to support their story or text
Compare and contrast elements in different stories (characters, settings, plot, and problems)
Discuss a story or topic with their classmates (ask and respond to questions)
Read grade-level assigned books

Writing Skills

Know editing and revising skills
Write about an event using a beginning, middle, and end.
Write something that tells a story, provides information, or gives their opinion
Know proper punctuation

Mathematic Skills

Add and subtract number up to 100 (30+25 or 72-12)
Solve one-two step word problems
Understand the ones, tens, and hundreds' place in a three-digit number
Read and write up to 1000
Measure objects in various forms of measurements (inches, feet, centimeters, and meters)
Understand and know the value of money
Solve problems using money
Know that smaller coins can equal an amount of a different coin or bill (ex: two nickels = one dime or four quarters = one dollar)
Graph data on a bar graph
Divide simple shapes into smaller pieces (halves, thirds, quarters)

Social Studies Skills

Know about their community
Basic map skills
Locate bodies of water on a map
Recognize more major landforms
Recognize and know more historical buildings
Recognize and know more important figures in history
Know more basic cultures and their traditions (Native Americans)

Science Skills

Know living systems like the food chain
Recognize and know that the same materials can exist in different areas (solid, gas, liquid)
Understand the concept and importance of recycling
Understand the planets and know their order in the Solar System
Use other tools to gather scientific information for an experiment
Classify animals based on species (mammals, amphibians)

Social Skills and Abilities

Work independently
Interact with peers and explore concepts
Work in a group
Follow directions and participate in group activities
Share and communicate appropriately with other students
Respect their peers
Sit for a longer period of time than in second grade (60 minutes)

Genie Academy offers a range of after-school educational activities for students, encompassing areas such as mathematics, reading, writing, and coding. Spread across New Jersey, including a location in Plainsboro, these programs are specifically crafted for students from Pre-Kindergarten to 8th grade.

Read the Rest of the Series!

Have multiple children in multiple grades? Read the rest of the series!

Sources:

Morin, Amanda. "Academic Skills Your Child Needs for Third Grade." understood.org. Web. 30 Aug. 2017
"Model Curriculum Grade 3 Mathematics Units," New Jersey State Government, https://www.state.nj.us/education/modelcurriculum/math/3.pdf
"Model Curriculum Grade 3 ELA Units," New Jersey State Government, http://www.state.nj.us/education/modelcurriculum/ela/3.pdf