Reading is a significant focus in the third grade. Third graders use reading in all their learning aspects and it is applied in all their school subjects. Teachers expect third graders and beyond to read chapters and lessons independently and later discuss them in class. As such, decoding and fluency are highly emphasized since children are required to read words and comprehend what they are reading. Practicing reading skills at home can improve your child’s reading comprehension and improve their performance in all school subjects. Nevertheless, you should understand the third-grade reading skills according to the common core standards to support your child appropriately.
Do you know?
“1 in every 5 kids in the United States struggle with issues related to math, writing, reading, focus, and organization. These kids with learning issues are as smart as their peers, but too many aren’t getting the support they need to succeed.” National Centers for Learning Disabilities.
Do you know?
“Students who don’t read proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to leave high school without a diploma than proficient readers.”- ANNIE E. CASEY.
Our team of experts at Kids on the Yard answers numerous questions from concerned parents about third grader’s reading skills as per the common core standards.
What should a third-grader learn about phonics and word recognition?

A third-grader should know and apply word analysis skills and grade-level phonics in decoding words. They should identify and understand the meaning of derivational suffixes and common prefixes. They should also decode common Latin suffixes words and multi-syllable words. Third graders should also read irregularly spelled words that are grade-appropriate.
What is the reading fluency of third-graders?
Third graders should read with fluency and accuracy to support comprehension. They should read grade-level text with understanding and purpose. They also read poetry and prose with appropriate rate, expression, and accuracy. A third-grader should also re-read the text and self-corrects their mistakes for better comprehension.
What should be the understanding level of third graders of main ideas and details?
Third graders should answer questions by referring to the text to demonstrate that they comprehend the reading. They should also ask relevant questions based on what they read. Your third grader should also recount stories such as myths, folk tales, and fables from varying cultures. They should understand the main lesson, message, or moral of a story by understanding the text’s essential details. A third-grader should also describe characters and explain how their behaviors led to the pattern of events in the text.
What should be a third grader’s craft and structure ability?

A third-grader understands the meaning of phrases and words as applied in a text. They also distinguish literal from non-literal language. They can also refer to poems, dramas, and stories when speaking or writing about a reader using stanza, scene, and chapter words. They should also distinguish the narrator’s point of view from their own.
How do third-graders integrate knowledge and ideas in the text?
They explain how certain aspects of illustration in a text relate to the conveyed words in the story. The students also compare and contrast the settings, plots, and themes of stories written by the same author about similar characters.
What are the reading range and text complexity levels for a third grader?
At the end of the third-grade year, your child should fluently read and comprehend text, including drama, stories, and poetry. They should also understand the meaning of words as per the context in the text.
Final Thought:
Reading is a crucial academic skill since without it is impossible to learn. Children are introduced to reading at the early stage of learning since they will require it in the later grades to learn independently. As a result, 85% of the curriculum is learned through reading. This means that kids who lag behind struggle a lot to learn and comprehend. In fact, research indicates that most of the kids who lag in third-grade reading never catch up.
Most students who do not know how to read at the end of the 3rd-grade struggle so much with future learning, and most of them never graduate from high school. That is why our tutors at Kids on the Yard help third graders bridge any reading skills before they proceed to the fourth grade. Our tutors also model culture and a love for reading in your child. So besides getting your struggling child on track, they also help them build confidence and a passion for reading.
Please get in touch with us for more information.