The Common Core in Iowa

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Skills available for Iowa third-grade language arts standards

Standards are in black and IXL language arts skills are in dark green. Hold your mouse over the name of a skill to view a sample question. Click on the name of a skill to practice that skill.

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Iowa Academic Standards for ELA and Literacy (adopted in 2024): Grade 3 Iowa Academic Standards for ELA and Literacy (adopted in 2024): Grade 3
Iowa Core: Language Iowa Core: Language
Iowa Core: Reading: Foundational Skills Iowa Core: Reading: Foundational Skills
Iowa Core: Reading: Informational Text Iowa Core: Reading: Informational Text
Iowa Core: Reading: Literature Iowa Core: Reading: Literature
Iowa Core: Writing Iowa Core: Writing

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WF.3 Writing Standards: Foundational Skills

Writing Foundations
- WF.3.1 Write legibly for a variety of tasks and purposes.
  - WF.3.1.a Form all upper and lowercase cursive letters efficiently and proportionately.
  - WF.3.1.b Produce cursive writing with accuracy and automaticity.

W.3 Writing Standards

Text Types and Purposes
- W.3.1 Write opinion pieces, supporting a point of view with reasons.
  - W.3.1.a Introduce the topic or text they are writing about, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure that lists reasons.
  - W.3.1.b Provide reasons that support the opinion.
  - W.3.1.c Use linking words and phrases (e.g., because, therefore, since, for example) to connect opinion and reasons.
  - W.3.1.d Provide a concluding statement or section.
- W.3.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
  - W.3.2.a Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations when useful to aiding comprehension.
  - W.3.2.b Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details.
    - Distinguish facts from opinions (3-AA.1)
    - Choose reasons to support an opinion (3-AA.3)
  - W.3.2.c Use linking words and phrases (e.g., also, another, and, more, but) to connect ideas within categories of information.
  - W.3.2.d Provide a concluding statement or section.
- W.3.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
  - W.3.3.a Use an organizational structure to establish a situation and introduce a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.
    - Put the sentences in order (3-W.1)
    - Choose topic sentences for narrative paragraphs (3-X.2)
  - W.3.3.b Use dialogue and descriptions of actions, thoughts, and feelings to develop experiences and events or show the response of characters to situations.
  - W.3.3.c Use temporal words and phrases to signal event order.
  - W.3.3.d Provide a sense of closure.
Production and Distribution of Writing
- W.3.4 With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose.
- W.3.5 With scaffolding and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
- W.3.6 With guidance and support from adults, use technology to produce and publish writing (using keyboarding skills) as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
- W.3.7 Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.
- W.3.8 Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.
Range of Writing
- W.3.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

L.3 Language Standards

Conventions of Standard English
- L.3.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
  - L.3.1.a Explain the function of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in general and their functions in particular sentences.
  - L.3.1.b Form and use regular and irregular plural nouns.
  - L.3.1.c Use abstract nouns (e.g., childhood).
    - Identify nouns – with abstract nouns (3-QQ.3)
  - L.3.1.d Form and use regular and irregular verbs.
  - L.3.1.e Form and use the simple (e.g., I walked; I walk; I will walk) verb tenses.
    - Form and use the regular past tense (3-UU.3)
    - Change the sentence to future tense (3-UU.14)
  - L.3.1.f Ensure subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent agreement.
  - L.3.1.g Form and use comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs, and choose between them depending on what is to be modified.
  - L.3.1.h Use coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.
    - Use coordinating conjunctions (3-Z.3)
    - Use subordinating conjunctions (3-Z.4)
  - L.3.1.i Produce simple, compound, and complex sentences.
- L.3.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
  - L.3.2.a Capitalize appropriate words in titles.
    - Capitalizing titles (3-DDD.3)
  - L.3.2.b Use commas in addresses.
    - Commas with the names of places (3-AAA.3)
  - L.3.2.c Use commas and quotation marks in dialogue.
    - Punctuating dialogue (3-DDD.6)
  - L.3.2.d Form and use possessives.
    - Form the singular or plural possessive (3-QQ.10)
  - L.3.2.e Use conventional spelling for high-frequency and other studied words and for adding suffixes to base words (e.g., sitting, smiled, cries, happiness).
  - L.3.2.f Use spelling patterns and generalizations (e.g., word families, position-based spellings, syllable patterns, ending rules, meaningful word parts) in writing words.
  - L.3.2.g Consult reference materials (e.g., beginning dictionaries) as needed to check and correct spellings.
Knowledge of Language
- L.3.3 Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
  - L.3.3.a Choose words and phrases for effect.
  - L.3.3.b Recognize and observe differences between the conventions of spoken and written standard English.
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
- L.3.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 3 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
  - L.3.4.a Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
  - L.3.4.b 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).
  - L.3.4.c Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root (e.g., company, companion).
  - L.3.4.d Use reference materials (e.g., glossaries or beginning dictionaries) to determine or clarify the precise meaning of key words and phrases.
- L.3.5 Demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
  - L.3.5.a Distinguish the literal and nonliteral meanings of words and phrases in context (e.g., take steps).
  - L.3.5.b Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., describe people who are friendly or helpful).
  - L.3.5.c Distinguish shades of meaning among related words that describe states of mind or degrees of certainty (e.g., knew, believed, suspected, heard, wondered).
- L.3.6 Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate conversational, general academic, and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal spatial and temporal relationships (e.g., After dinner that night, we went looking for them).

The Common Core in Iowa

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RL.3 Reading Standards for Literature

Key Ideas and Details

RL.3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

RL.3.2 Recount and determine the central message, lesson, or moral of fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.

RL.3.3 Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.

Craft and Structure

RL.3.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language.

RL.3.5 Refer to parts of stories, dramas, and poems when writing or speaking about a text, using terms such as chapter, scene, and stanza; describe how each successive part builds on earlier sections.

RL.3.6 Compare and contrast their own point of view (perspective) from that of the narrator or those of the characters.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

RL.3.7 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).

RL.3.9 Compare and contrast the settings, plots, and themes of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters (e.g., in books from a series).

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

RL.3.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, at the high end of the grades 2–3 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

RI.3 Reading Standards for Informational Text

Key Ideas and Details

RI.3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

RI.3.2 Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.

RI.3.3 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.

Craft and Structure

RI.3.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.

RI.3.5 Use text features and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate information relevant to a given topic efficiently.

RI.3.6 Compare and contrast their own point of view and/or perspective from that of the author of a text.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

RI.3.7 Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).

RI.3.8 Describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison, cause/effect, first/second/third in a sequence).

RI.3.9 Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

RI.3.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 2–3 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

RF.3 Reading Standards: Foundational Skills

Phonics and Word Recognition

RF.3.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills to support decoding and encoding words.

RF.3.3.a Identify and know the meaning of the most common prefixes and derivational suffixes.

RF.3.3.b Decode and encode words with common Latin suffixes.

RF.3.3.c Decode and encode multisyllable words.

RF.3.3.d Read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words with accuracy and automaticity.

Fluency

RF.3.4 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

RF.3.4.a Read grade level text with purpose and understanding.

RF.3.4.b Use decoding skills to self-correct word recognition, rereading as necessary.

RF.3.4.c Read grade-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.

WF.3 Writing Standards: Foundational Skills

Writing Foundations

WF.3.1 Write legibly for a variety of tasks and purposes.

WF.3.1.a Form all upper and lowercase cursive letters efficiently and proportionately.

WF.3.1.b Produce cursive writing with accuracy and automaticity.

W.3 Writing Standards

Text Types and Purposes

W.3.1 Write opinion pieces, supporting a point of view with reasons.

W.3.1.a Introduce the topic or text they are writing about, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure that lists reasons.

W.3.1.b Provide reasons that support the opinion.

W.3.1.c Use linking words and phrases (e.g., because, therefore, since, for example) to connect opinion and reasons.

W.3.1.d Provide a concluding statement or section.

W.3.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

W.3.2.a Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations when useful to aiding comprehension.

W.3.2.b Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details.

W.3.2.c Use linking words and phrases (e.g., also, another, and, more, but) to connect ideas within categories of information.

W.3.2.d Provide a concluding statement or section.

W.3.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

W.3.3.a Use an organizational structure to establish a situation and introduce a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.

W.3.3.b Use dialogue and descriptions of actions, thoughts, and feelings to develop experiences and events or show the response of characters to situations.

W.3.3.c Use temporal words and phrases to signal event order.

W.3.3.d Provide a sense of closure.

Production and Distribution of Writing

W.3.4 With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose.

W.3.5 With scaffolding and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.

W.3.6 With guidance and support from adults, use technology to produce and publish writing (using keyboarding skills) as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

W.3.7 Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.

W.3.8 Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.

Range of Writing

W.3.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

L.3 Language Standards

Conventions of Standard English

L.3.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

L.3.1.a Explain the function of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in general and their functions in particular sentences.

L.3.1.b Form and use regular and irregular plural nouns.