By third grade, children should be able to spend longer periods of time writing independently and building upon skills acquired in previous grades.
Below are the main objectives to be achieved when writing at Grade 3 level:
These aims can be broadly illustrated through the lens of the following different styles of writing:
Writing informative texts in Grade 3 calls for a focus on a specific topic and piecing together factual details with the aim to inform the reader. Here are our top tips for writing a high-quality informative text at third grade level:
Some informative writing text styles in Grade 3 are:
Practice Tip: Your child can work on their informative writing skills with Night Zookeeper’s activity pack about explanations. This pack introduces examples of linking words and phrases that can help connect ideas in informational writing!
In third grade, your child is expected to give their opinion on a chosen topic and provide valid reasons for their perspective. Your child will also learn how to use linking words and phrases to piece together a compelling argument. Grade 3 learners should be working on writing to persuade or influence an audience.
How to write an opinion piece at third-grade level:
Practice Tip: You can encourage your child to develop opinions on specific topics by engaging in topical discussions! Choose a theme and start a conversation about it - you’ll be surprised by the already-formed opinions your child has!
Stories at Grade 3 level should rely on descriptive writing techniques to create a cohesive plot of events, which provide the reader with as much information on the characters, settings and actions as possible!
To write a narrative piece of writing at third-grade level, your child must think about the following:
Practice Tip: Why not get your child to draw the characters and settings of their story before writing the piece? Not only will this encourage them to think about more details which can be described in the story (such as the clothes worn by the characters or the type of setting appropriate for the plot), but it will also improve their ability to think creatively about the chosen topic or theme!
Our extensive collections of lesson series on our program, nightzookeeper.com, are especially relevant for Grade 3 writing, such as The Persuasive Professor, Building Story Tension with the General, and Story Endings with the Guardians. There are also hundreds of grammar, spelling and vocabulary challenges that can help your child build upon the skills they learned in the earlier grades. We also offer lots of useful educational resources which will help your child through Grade 3!