Grade 3 English Language Arts: how to help at home
What your child learns in Grade 3 english language arts in the Saskatchewan Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- Comprehend and Respond (CR3.1–CR3.4): Comprehend and respond to a variety of grade-level texts. View and respond to grade-appropriate visual and multimedia texts explaining reactions and connections as well as… Listen to and understand information, identify main ideas and supporting details, compare different ideas and… (and 1 more outcome)
- Compose and Create (CC3.1–CC3.4): Compose and create a range of visual, multimedia, oral, and written texts that explore. Communicate ideas and information pertaining to topics, problems, questions, or issues by creating easy-to-follow… Speak to present ideas and information appropriately in informal and some formal situations for different… (and 1 more outcome)
- Assess and Reflect on Language Abilities (AR3.1–AR3.2): Reflect on and assess their viewing, listening, reading, speaking, writing, and other representing experiences and… Set personal goals to view, listen, read, speak, write, and use other forms of representing more effectively and…
Easy ways to practise english language arts at home
- Take turns reading a page aloud, and chat about what happened and why.
- Keep a short journal, with one or two sentences a day to start.
- Hunt for a new word a day and use it at dinner.
- Ask for a prediction before turning the page: “What do you think happens next?”
What each unit covers
Read and Think
Reading short original stories and non-fiction passages, then finding the main idea, details and order of events, making inferences and working out word meanings from context.
Story Elements
Naming the characters, setting, problem and solution of a story, describing how characters feel and what they are like, and finding a story's lesson.
Spelling Patterns
Spelling long vowel sounds with vowel teams (ai, ay, ee, ea, oa, ow, igh, ie) and adding -ed and -ing by doubling a letter, dropping a silent e or just adding the ending.
Prefixes & Suffixes
Learning what prefixes (un-, re-, pre-, dis-) and suffixes (-ful, -less, -er, -ly) mean, finding base words and using new words in sentences.
Word Pairs
Synonyms (words that mean the same), antonyms (opposites) and homophones (words that sound alike but are spelled differently, like their, there and they're).
Word Jobs
Finding nouns (naming words), verbs (action words), adjectives (describing words) and adverbs (words that tell how) in sentences.
Punctuation Power
Choosing end marks, using commas in lists and dates, writing contractions and possessives with apostrophes, and putting quotation marks around speech.
Sentence Smarts
Telling statements, questions, exclamations and commands apart, spotting incomplete sentences and joining ideas with so, but, or and because.
Fact or Opinion?
Telling facts (which can be checked) from opinions (what someone thinks), and spotting opinion words like best and cutest.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Beginning
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practising the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Meeting is the goal for every outcome. Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Exemplary
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the Saskatchewan report card guide.
Common questions
How can I help my Grade 3 child with english language arts?
Take turns reading a page aloud, and chat about what happened and why. Keep a short journal, with one or two sentences a day to start. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
What does my child learn in Grade 3 english language arts in Saskatchewan?
The Saskatchewan Curriculum Grade 3 english language arts units include read and think, story elements, spelling patterns, prefixes & suffixes, word pairs, word jobs.
Free printable Grade 3 english language arts practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.