All third-grade students should be able to use spoken, written and visual language to ensure effective communication with different audiences. It is essential that students understand the importance of audience, since writing in a diary will take on a much different tone and voice than writing a formal essay. Students should be given a number of different, age-appropriate writing assignments over the course of a year to help them understand how to write to a specific audience.
Third-grade students should be able to use a variety of strategies during the writing process to communicate with different audiences and purposes. To improve these skills, third-graders should be required to use the writing process on a variety of assignments that require them to write in different modes and for different audiences and purposes. For instance, third-graders could be asked to write a persuasive letter to their parents, write a fictional story or research a famous person.
Third-grade students should use age-appropriate knowledge of grammar, spelling, punctuation, figurative language and literary genre when writing. To become successful writers, students of all ages must understand that writing has a particular structure and form, and that editing and revisions are part of creating strong writing. No matter the grade level, students must understand the importance of structure, as poor grammar and conventions can dilute the clarity of their writing.
Third-graders should be able to evaluate and interpret simple research from a several different print and technology-based sources, then communicate that research to the appropriate audience. For instance, third-grade students could be required to research a simple topic, such as their favorite pet, using a variety of different books and Internet sources. The NCTE cites the ability to identify and evaluate research as "one of the most vital skills that students can acquire." Most elementary teachers expose their students to some form of research over the course of the academic year.