In Grade 3, students read and write more independently than in any previous grade and spend significant blocks of time engaged in reading and writing on their own as well as in assigned tasks and projects. Students listen critically to spoken messages, think about their own contributions to discussions, and plan their oral presentations. Third grade students read grade-level material fluently and with comprehension. Students use root words, prefixes, suffixes, and derivational endings to recognize words. Students demonstrate knowledge of synonyms, antonyms, and multi-meaning words. Students are beginning to distinguish fact from opinion in texts. During class discussions, third grade students support their ideas and inferences by citing portions of the text being discussed. Students read in a variety of genres, including realistic and imaginative fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from classic and contemporary works. Third grade students write with more complex capitalization and punctuation such as proper nouns and commas in a series. Students write with more proficient spelling of contractions and homonyms. Third grade students write longer and more elaborate sentences and organize their writing into larger units of text. Students write several drafts to produce a final product. Students revise their writing to improve coherence, progression, and logic, and edit final drafts to reflect standard grammar and usage. Students master manuscript writing and may begin to use cursive writing.

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/teks/index.html