CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.3.3b
The Standard
Recognize and observe differences between the conventions of spoken and written standard English.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students compare standard English used in conversation and writing. They notice contractions, repetition, sentence completeness, and details supplied by context, then explain why those choices fit each form.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given a conversation transcript and a written paragraph, students accurately identify features of each. They can turn a conversational message into a clear written note without changing its meaning.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think speech has no rules or that writing must avoid every contraction. They may label home dialects as bad English instead of considering audience, purpose, and setting.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Compare “I’ll bring it there after lunch” with “I will bring the science folder to Room 8 after lunch.” Identify two differences and explain why each fits speaking or writing.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Sort cards showing spoken lines and written sentences, then underline contractions, repeated words, complete sentences, and details supplied by context.
Discuss this prompt: How would you tell a classmate about a schedule change, and how would you write it for families?
Play Mode Match: teams pair conversational lines with written versions and earn a point by naming one convention that changed.
Compare a voicemail transcript with an email about the same event, then list choices that help each audience understand the message.
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Printable L.3.3b Worksheet

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.3.3b, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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Where This Standard Sits
What This Unlocks
Mastery here sets students up for these next.
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Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.1
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.6.1e
Recognize variations from standard English in their own and others' writing and speaking, and identify and use strategies to improve expression in conventional ...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.1
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.6.1
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
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