CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.3.3

ELA3rd GradeKnowledge of Language

The Standard

Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Language Standards

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students choose words and sentence patterns that fit their audience, purpose, and setting. They notice how language changes between conversation, dialogue, and formal writing.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students adjust vocabulary, tone, and sentence structure for a specific audience and purpose. They can explain why one version works better in speech, dialogue, or formal writing.
Common Misconceptions: Students may use casual speech in every writing task or make formal speech sound stiff. They may also choose words that are correct but do not fit the audience or purpose.
How to Assess It: Give students a casual sentence: “That game was super fun.” Ask them to rewrite it for a school newspaper and explain one change.

Lesson moves

Give pairs sentence strips from conversations, letters, and reports, then have them sort each by where the language fits best.
Ask students to write two requests for the same favor, one to a friend and one to the principal.
Play Audience Switch, where students draw an audience card and revise a sentence to match that listener or reader.
Compare a text message with a school announcement, then list specific word and sentence choices that make each one appropriate.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.3.3, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

Learning progression

See the whole path on the Language progression map.

If students are struggling here, check these first.

Mastery here sets students up for these next.

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