Third-grade students are expected to write about their own life experiences. These can be stories about important events in their lives, such as their favorite holiday, the family member they admire most, their best or worst day ever or any other topic that allows them to express themselves in writing. They are expected to write in response to writing prompts provided by their teacher. Students should work through the elements of the writing process and learn to accept feedback from teachers and other students to improve their writing.
Third-graders study different fictional genres and poetry. They are expected to write their own stories to include a sequence of events, a climax in the plot and details about the characters in the story. They are also expected to use what they learn about the structure and language of poetry to write their own poems.
Students are expected to write for a specific purpose and to convey a specific message. Both informational and persuasive writing should include details, facts and simple explanations to support their ideas or arguments.
As students expand their reading experience, they are expected to write about what they have read. These writings should reflect their feelings and thoughts about the writing. In third grade, students should begin to connect what they read to their own lives, community and world.
Students continue to work on their handwriting skills in third grade, including learning to write legibly in cursive. They are expected to use capitalization and punctuation properly in simple and compound sentences. They should demonstrate an understanding of subject-verb agreement and learn words that help them transition from one idea to another when writing.