Colorado 3rd Grade Curriculum & Standards Guide

Colorado standards

Math

2020 Colorado Academic Standards: Mathematics

Based on Common Core · adopted 2018

Grade 3 carries the national standards and codes, for example 3.NF.A.1, with small wording changes. Personal financial literacy is not in Grade 3 math; it sits in social studies (SS.3.5.1). The 2020 standards, adopted in 2018, apply in 2026-27; revisions approved in May 2026 affect high school only.

Official standards

English Language Arts

2020 Colorado Academic Standards: Reading, Writing, and Communicating

Based on Common Core · adopted 2018

Colorado renumbers the national standards under its own codes, for example RW.3.2.1.a.i, and adds 15 Grade 3 outcomes of its own, such as reading fluency and summarizing. Its Grade 3 list leaves out forming plural nouns and subject-verb agreement. Re-adopted without changes in December 2024.

Official standards

Science

2020 Colorado Academic Standards: Science

Based on the national science framework · adopted 2018

Adopted in June 2018; this version applies in 2026-27. Revisions approved in August 2025 start in 2027-28 and keep the same 15 Grade 3 outcomes. Grade 3 matches Third Grade. Codes look like SC.3.1.1.a, and there are no separate engineering design standards; design work sits inside outcomes such as SC.3.1.2.b.

Official standards

Social Studies

Colorado Academic Standards: Social Studies (adopted 2022)

State's own standards

Adopted in November 2022 and fully in effect since August 2024. Grade 3 focuses on communities and regions, including Colorado's regions; codes look like SS.3.2.1. The three branches of government and explorers are not Grade 3 expectations in Colorado.

Official standards

Grade 3 differences

1. In Colorado

   Social studies: children compare primary and secondary sources when explaining the past, and compare primary sources with fiction on the same topic (SS.3.1.1). The program does not teach this.

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Social Studies Week 8 (how our community began): compare a primary source, such as an old photograph or letter, with a history book and with a story on the same topic. Talk about what each one can and cannot tell you.

2. In Colorado

   Social studies: children locate the state of Colorado and its neighboring states on maps, along with oceans, continents, major countries, bodies of water, mountains and cities (SS.3.2.1).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Social Studies Weeks 3 and 10 (maps and globes; U.S. geography): find Colorado and its neighboring states on a U.S. map.

3. In Colorado

   Social studies: children describe the physical, cultural and human-made features of a local region, with examples such as the Eastern Plains, San Luis Valley, Front Range and Western Slope (SS.3.2.2).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Social Studies Week 11 (five U.S. regions): add Colorado's own regions and describe the one you live in.

4. In Colorado

   Social studies: children describe the history, interactions and contributions of the many peoples and cultures who have lived in or moved to a community or region; the standards name specific groups (SS.3.1.2).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Social Studies Weeks 15-16 (culture; immigration): research the groups who have shaped your Colorado community or region.

5. In Colorado

   Social studies: personal financial literacy sits here in Grade 3. Children set a short-term money goal for saving and spending and make a plan to reach it (SS.3.5.1).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Social Studies Week 31 (save, spend, give): have your child set one short-term saving goal and write the steps to reach it.

6. In Colorado

   ELA: Colorado adds reading outcomes of its own: summarizing the central ideas and important details of a text (RW.3.2.1.a.iv), reading aloud accurately and fluently with attention to phrasing and punctuation (RW.3.2.1.e), and using signal words to follow the order of events and cause and effect (RW.3.2.1.b.ii, RW.3.2.2.b.iv).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   ELA Week 7 (main idea): have your child write a short summary of each text and point out signal words such as before, next, because and although. ELA Weeks 1-36: add a few minutes of reading aloud daily.

7. In Colorado

   ELA: Colorado adds writing and research outcomes of its own: varying sentence beginnings and mixing long and short sentences (RW.3.3.4.a.ix), and creating visuals such as charts, maps or models to support research (RW.3.4.1.c).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   ELA Week 13 (revise and edit): add a check for varied sentence beginnings and lengths. ELA Weeks 28-30 (research report): have your child make a chart, map or model to go with the report.

Grade 3 public-school test

Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS)

Math and English language arts tests are given in Grades 3-8. Science is tested in Grades 5, 8 and 11.

About this test

Shown for context. Homeschool testing rules are separate; see below.

Homeschool rules

Check your state's current homeschool rules with its education department. Colorado homeschool page

Sources

• Colorado Academic Standards and Essential Skills · Colorado Department of Education
• Colorado Academic Standards Review and Revision · Colorado Department of Education
• Third Grade Guide to the Colorado Academic Standards · Colorado Department of Education
• 2020 Colorado Academic Standards: Mathematics 3-5 · Colorado Department of Education
• 2020 Colorado Academic Standards: Reading, Writing, and Communicating 3-5 · Colorado Department of Education
• Colorado Academic Standards Online: Social Studies - 2022, Third Grade · Colorado Department of Education
• Colorado Academic Standards: Social Studies (adopted 2022) · Colorado Department of Education
• 2020 Colorado Academic Standards: Science · Colorado Department of Education
• Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) · Colorado Department of Education
• Homeschool · Colorado Department of Education

Verified 2026-10-08