Skip to content
Start My 3 Free Days $0 today · cancel anytime

3rd Grade Reading Common Core Lessons

26 3rd grade reading Common Core Lessons, covering reading comprehension, independent and guided reading, compare and contrast, plus 9 more topics. How teachers use these

3rd Grade Reading Common Core Lessons

26 3rd grade reading Common Core Lessons, covering reading comprehension, independent and guided reading, compare and contrast, plus 9 more topics. How teachers use these

Common Core Lesson
Common Core Lesson3rd GradeCommon Core Unit Lesson Plan Template

With our Common Core Unit Lesson Plan Template, you can develop your monthly lessons across a specific unit. First, you will pick the theme of your unit.

Common Core Lesson
Common Core Lesson3rd GradeRF.3.3 Third Grade Common Core Lesson

This RF.3.3 Third Grade Common Core Lesson includes RF.3.3 Worksheets, RF.3.3 Activities, RF.3.3 Assessment, and RF.3.3 Poster.

Common Core Lesson
Common Core Lesson3rd GradeRI.3.10 Third Grade Common Core Lesson

Using RI.3.10 Third Grade Common Core Lesson, students read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts.

Common Core Lesson
Common Core Lesson3rd GradeRI.3.6 Third Grade Common Core Lesson

Using RI.3.6 Third Grade Common Core Lesson, studentsdistinguish their own point of view from that of the author of a text.

Common Core Lesson
Common Core Lesson3rd GradeRL.3.9 Third Grade Common Core Lesson

Using RL.3.9 Third Grade Common Core Lesson, students compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters.

Common Core Lesson
Common Core Lesson3rd GradeRI.3.3 Third Grade Common Core Lesson

This RI.3.3 Third Grade Common Core Lesson includes RI.3.3 Worksheets, RI.3.3 Activities, RI.3.3 Assessment, and RI.3.3 Poster.

Common Core Lesson
Common Core Lesson3rd GradeCommon Core Daily Lesson Plan Template

With our Common Core Daily Lesson Plan Template, you will develop an Objective based on a Common Core Standard. Next, you will use the subject column

Common Core Lesson
Common Core Lesson3rd GradeCommon Core Lesson Plan Template

With our Common Core Lesson Plan Template, you can develop your weekly lessons across multiple subjects. First, you will date your Lesson Plan and label

Common Core Lesson
Common Core Lesson3rd GradeCommon Core Monthly Lesson Plan Template

With our Common Core Monthly Lesson Plan Template, you can develop your monthly lessons across multiple subjects. First, you will date your Lesson Plan and

Common Core Lesson
Common Core Lesson3rd GradeRI.3.1 Third Grade Common Core Lesson

This RI.3.1 Third Grade Common Core Lesson includes RI.3.1 Worksheets, RI.3.1 Activities, RI.3.1 Assessment, and RI.3.1 Poster.

Common Core Lesson
Common Core Lesson3rd GradeRI.3.2 Third Grade Common Core Lesson

Using RI.3.2 Third Grade Common Core Lesson,students determine the main idea of a text and recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.

Common Core Lesson
Common Core Lesson3rd GradeRI.3.8 Third Grade Common Core Lesson

Using RI.3.8 Third Grade Common Core Lesson, students describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text.

Common Core Lesson
Common Core Lesson3rd GradeRL.3.2 Third Grade Common Core Lesson

This RL.3.2 Third Grade Common Core Lesson includes RL.3.2 Worksheets, RL.3.2 Activities, RL.3.2 Assessment, and RL.3.2 Poster.

Common Core Lesson
Common Core Lesson3rd GradeRL.3.6 Third Grade Common Core Lesson

Using RL.3.6 Third Grade Common Core Lesson, students distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or those of the characters.

Common Core Lesson
Common Core Lesson3rd GradeRF.3.4 Third Grade Common Core Lesson

Using RF.3.4 Third Grade Common Core Lesson, students read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension to improve fluency and accuracy.

Common Core Lesson
Common Core Lesson3rd GradeRI.3.4 Third Grade Common Core Lesson

Using RI.3.4 Third Grade Common Core Lesson, students determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.

Common Core Lesson
Common Core Lesson3rd GradeRI.3.5 Third Grade Common Core Lesson

Using RI.3.5 Third Grade Common Core Lesson, students explain how text features support their acquisition of knowledge while reading.

Common Core Lesson
Common Core Lesson3rd GradeRI.3.7 Third Grade Common Core Lesson

Using RI.3.7 Third Grade Common Core Lesson, students use information gained from illustrations and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text.

Common Core Lesson
Common Core Lesson3rd GradeRI.3.9 Third Grade Common Core Lesson

Using RI.3.9 Third Grade Common Core Lesson, students identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic.

Common Core Lesson
Common Core Lesson3rd GradeRL.3.1 Third Grade Common Core Lesson

Using this RL.3.1 Third Grade Common Core Lesson, students answer questions aboutkey details in a fiction text.

From our teachers' playbook

Chapter books and big thinking

What do 3rd graders learn in reading?

Third grade readers move into chapter books and longer nonfiction, and the thinking gets deeper. Kids use context clues and prefixes like pre-, dis- and mis- to figure out new words: dis + agree = disagree. They find the main idea and key details, describe characters' traits and motives, and explain how a character's choices move the story. In nonfiction, they use text features, identify the author's purpose, and compare two texts with a Venn diagram. They also make predictions and inferences using clues from the text.

Our favorite ways to grow 3rd grade readers

Third graders are ready to think about texts, not just read them. These moves get them there.

Prefix power round

Each morning, play a quick prefix round where kids add pre-, dis- or mis- to a base word and say the new meaning. Keep a growing list on chart paper. By the end of the month, kids are decoding big words in their chapter books on their own.

Why it works: pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than rereading it, one of the strongest findings in learning research (Dunlosky and colleagues, 2013).

Prefixes Pre Dis Mis GameTry it withPrefixes Pre Dis Mis GameGamesOpen it →

Be a context clue detective

Read a sentence with a tricky word and think out loud: "I don't know enormous, but the elephant was so enormous it couldn't fit through the door, so it must mean very big." Underline the clue words. Then let kids hunt for clues in the next passage.

Why it works: showing first, practicing together, then letting kids try alone is the "gradual release" model teachers have relied on for decades (Pearson and Gallagher, 1983).

Context Clues WorksheetTry it withContext Clues WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

Venn it out

After reading two stories or two articles on one topic, draw a big Venn diagram on the board. Kids add sticky notes to each side and to the middle. Seeing similarities and differences side by side makes compare and contrast writing much easier.

Why it works: pairing a picture with each word gives kids two ways to remember it, a well-tested principle of how people learn (Mayer, 2009).

Comparing and Contrasting Venn Diagram WorksheetTry it withComparing and Contrasting Venn Diagram WorksheetGraphic OrganizersOpen it →

3rd grade reading questions we hear a lot

What reading level should a 3rd grader be at?

Most 3rd graders read short chapter books and grade-level nonfiction independently by the end of the year. Reading levels vary by school, so ask your child's teacher which scale they use.

What reading skills are taught in 3rd grade?

Third graders work on main idea and details, character traits, author's purpose, text features, compare and contrast, context clues, prefixes and suffixes, and making predictions and inferences.

How can I help my 3rd grader read chapter books?

Read the first chapter together to get them hooked, then take turns reading pages. Ask a quick question at the end of each chapter. Series books are great because kids already know the characters.

Why is 3rd grade reading so important?

In 3rd grade, kids shift from learning to read to reading to learn. Science, social studies and math word problems all depend on strong reading, so this year sets the stage for everything that follows.