Grade 3 English Language Arts

Below is a simplified list of the English Language Arts curricular units and core competencies for Grade 3. 


The Alberta curriculum is complex and lengthy and in order to present a coherent and understandable document, I have omitted many of the non-content specific skills and attitudes discussed in the original curricular documents.

English Language Arts

1. General Outcome 1 - Explore thoughts, ideas, feelings and experiences.
2. General Outcome 2 - Comprehend and respond personally and critically

to oral, print and other media texts.

1. General Outcome 3 - Manage ideas and information.
2. General Outcome 4 - Enhance the clarity and artistry of communication.
3. General Outcome 5 - Respect, support and collaborate with others.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS( Colour Coded By Unit)

General Outcome 1 (Gr. 3)

Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to explore thoughts, ideas, feelings and experiences.

1.1 Discover and Explore

Express ideas and develop understanding

• connect prior knowledge and personal experiences with new ideas and information in oral, print and other media texts
• explain understanding of new concepts in own words
• explore ideas and feelings by asking questions, talking to others and referring to oral, print and other media texts

Experiment with language and forms

• choose appropriate forms of oral, print and other media texts for communicating and sharing ideas with others

Express preferences

• choose and share a variety of oral, print and other media texts in areas of particular interest

Set goals

• discuss areas of personal accomplishment as readers, writers and illustrators

1.2 Clarify and Extend

Consider the ideas of others

• ask for the ideas and observations of others to explore and clarify personal understanding

Combine ideas

• experiment with arranging and recording ideas and information in a variety of ways

Extend understanding

• ask questions to clarify information and ensure understanding

General Outcome 2 (Gr. 3)

Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to comprehend and respond personally and critically to oral, print and other media texts.

2.1 Use Strategies and Cues

Use prior knowledge

• share ideas developed through interests, experiences and discussion that are related to new ideas and information
• identify the different ways in which oral, print and other media texts, such as stories, textbooks, letters, pictionaries and junior dictionaries, are organized, and use them to construct and confirm meaning

Use comprehension strategies

• use grammatical knowledge to predict words and sentence structures when reading narrative and expository materials
• apply a variety of strategies, such as setting a purpose, confirming predictions, making inferences and drawing conclusions
• identify the main idea or topic and supporting details in simple narrative and expository passages
• extend sight vocabulary to include predictable phrases and words related to language use
• read silently with increasing confidence and accuracy
• monitor and confirm meaning by rereading when necessary, and by applying knowledge of pragmatic, semantic, syntactic and graphophonic cueing systems

Use textual cues

• use headings, paragraphs, punctuation and quotation marks to assist with constructing and confirming meaning
• attend to and use knowledge of capitalization, commas in a series, question marks, exclamation marks and quotation marks to read accurately, fluently and with comprehension during oral and silent reading

Use phonics and structural analysis

• apply phonic rules and generalizations competently and confidently to read unfamiliar words in context
• apply word analysis strategies to segment words into parts or syllables, when reading unfamiliar words in context
• associate sounds with an increasing number of vowel combinations, consonant blends and digraphs, and letter clusters to read unfamiliar words in context

Use references

• put words in alphabetical order by first and second letter
• use pictionaries, junior dictionaries and spell-check functions to confirm the spellings or locate the meanings of unfamiliar words in oral, print and other media texts

2.2 Respond to Texts

Experience various texts

• choose a variety of oral, print and other media texts for shared and independent listening, reading and viewing experiences, using texts from a variety of cultural traditions and genres, such as nonfiction, chapter books, illustrated storybooks, drum dances, fables, CDROM programs and plays
• tell or write about favourite parts of oral, print and other media texts
• identify types of literature, such as humour, poetry, adventure and fairy tales, and describe favourites
• connect own experiences with the experiences of individuals portrayed in oral, print and other media texts, using textual references

Construct meaning from texts

• connect portrayals of characters or situations in oral, print and other media texts to personal and classroom experiences
• summarize the main idea of individual oral, print and other media texts
• discuss, represent or write about ideas in oral, print and other media texts, and relate them to own ideas and experiences and to other texts
• make inferences about a character's actions or feelings
• express preferences for one character over another

Appreciate the artistry of texts

• express feelings related to words, visuals and sound in oral, print and other media texts
• identify how authors use comparisons, and explain how they create mental images

2.3 Understand Forms, Elements and Techniques

Understand forms and genres

• identify distinguishing features of a variety of oral, print and other media texts
• discuss ways that visual images convey meaning in print and other media texts

Understand techniques and elements

• include events, setting and characters when summarizing or retelling oral, print or other media texts
• describe the main characters in terms of who they are, their actions in the story and their relations with other characters
• identify ways that messages are enhanced in oral, print and other media texts by the use of specific techniques

Experiment with language

• recognize examples of repeated humour, sound and poetic effects that contribute to audience enjoyment

2.4 Create Original Text

Generate ideas

• experiment with ways of generating and organizing ideas prior to creating oral, print and other media texts

Elaborate on the expression of ideas

• use sentence variety to link ideas and create impressions on familiar audiences

Structure texts

• experiment with a variety of story beginnings to choose ones that best introduce particular stories
• add sufficient detail to oral, print and other media texts to tell about setting and character, and to sustain plot

General Outcome 3 (Gr. 3)

Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to manage ideas and information.

3.1 Plan and Focus

Focus attention

• use self-questioning to identify information needed to supplement personal knowledge on a topic
• identify facts and opinions, main ideas and details in oral, print and other media texts

Determine information needs

• ask topic-appropriate questions to identify information needs

Plan to gather information

• contribute ideas for developing a class plan to access and gather ideas and information

3.2 Select and Process

Use a variety of sources

• find information to answer research questions, using a variety of sources, such as children's magazines, CDROMs, plays, folk tales, songs, stories and the environment

Access information

• use text features, such as titles, pictures, headings, labels, diagrams and dictionary guide words, to access information
• locate answers to questions and extract appropriate and significant information from oral, print and other media texts
• use card or electronic catalogues to locate information

Evaluate sources

• review information to determine its usefulness in answering research questions

3.3 Organize, Record and Evaluate

Organize information

• organize ideas and information, using a variety of strategies, such as clustering, categorizing and sequencing
• draft ideas and information into short paragraphs, with topic and supporting sentences

Record information

• record facts and ideas using a variety of strategies; list titles and authors of sources
• list significant ideas and information from oral, print and other media texts

Evaluate information

• determine if gathered information is sufficient to answer research questions

3.4 Share and Review

Share ideas and information

• organize and share ideas and information on topics to engage familiar audiences
• use titles, headings and visuals to add interest and highlight important points of presentation

Review research process

• assess the research process, using pre-established criteria

General Outcome 4 (Gr. 3)

Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to enhance the clarity and artistry of communication.

4.1 Enhance and Improve

Appraise own and others' work

• share own oral, print and other media texts with others to identify strengths and ideas for improvement

Revise and edit

• combine and rearrange existing information to accommodate new ideas and information
• edit for complete and incomplete sentences

Enhance legibility

• print legibly, and begin to learn proper alignment, shape and slant of cursive writing
• space words and sentences consistently on a line and page
• use keyboarding skills to compose, revise and print text
• understand and use vocabulary associated with keyboarding and word processing

Expand knowledge of language

• explain relationships among words and concepts associated with topics of study
• experiment with words and word meanings to produce a variety of effects

Enhance artistry

• choose words, language patterns, illustrations or sounds to add detail and create desired effects in oral, print and other media texts

4.2 Attend to Conventions

Attend to grammar and usage

• identify a variety of sentence types, and use in own writing
• identify correct subject-verb agreement, and use in own writing
• use adjectives and adverbs to add interest and detail to own writing
• distinguish between complete and incomplete sentences

Attend to spelling

• use phonic knowledge and skills and visual memory, systematically, to spell phonically regular, three-syllable words in own writing
• identify generalizations that assist with the spelling of unfamiliar words, including irregular plurals in own writing
• identify frequently misspelled words, and develop strategies for learning to spell them correctly in own writing

Attend to capitalization and punctuation

• use capital letters appropriately in titles of books and stories
• use exclamation marks, appropriately, as end punctuation in own writing
• use apostrophes to form common contractions and to show possession in own writing
• identify commas, end punctuation, apostrophes and quotation marks when reading, and use them to assist comprehension

4.3 Present and Share

Present information

• present ideas and information on a topic, using a pre-established plan

Enhance presentation

• use print and nonprint aids to illustrate ideas and information in oral, print and other media texts

Use effective oral and visual communication

• speak or present oral readings with fluency, rhythm, pace, and with appropriate intonation to emphasize key ideas

Demonstrate attentive listening and viewing

• rephrase, restate and explain the meaning of oral and visual presentations
• identify and set purposes for listening and viewing

General Outcome 5 (Gr. 3)

Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to respect, support and collaborate with others.

5.1 Respect Others and Strengthen Community

Appreciate diversity

• describe similarities between experiences and traditions encountered in daily life and those portrayed in oral, print and other media texts
• retell, paraphrase or explain ideas in oral, print and other media texts

Relate texts to culture

• identify and discuss similar ideas or topics within stories from oral, print and other media texts from various communities

Celebrate accomplishments and events

• use appropriate language to acknowledge and celebrate individual and class accomplishments

Use language to show respect

• demonstrate respect for the ideas, abilities and language use of others

5.2 Work within a Group

Cooperate with others

• work cooperatively with others in small groups on structured tasks
• identify others who can provide assistance, and seek their help in specific situations

Work in groups

• contribute ideas and information on topics to develop a common knowledge base in the group
• ask others for their ideas, and express interest in their contributions

Evaluate group process

• assess the effectiveness of group process, using pre-established criteria