Connecticut 3rd Grade Curriculum & Standards Guide

Connecticut standards

Math

Connecticut Core Standards for Mathematics

Common Core · adopted 2010

Connecticut uses the Common Core math standards, which it calls the CT Core Standards. Grade 3 matches. The state's list prints the codes without the cluster letter, for example 3.MD.7.

Official standards

English Language Arts

Connecticut Core Standards for English Language Arts

Common Core · adopted 2010

Connecticut uses the Common Core ELA standards, which it calls the CT Core Standards. Grade 3 matches.

Official standards

Science

Connecticut Science Standards (adopted 2015)

National science standards · adopted 2015

Adopted by a unanimous State Board vote on November 4, 2015. Grade 3 follows the national science standards unchanged. We found no separate Grade 3 list on Connecticut's own site; the Department's science page points to the national document linked here.

Official standards

Social Studies

Connecticut Elementary and Secondary Social Studies Standards (2023)

State standards informed by the national social studies framework

Adopted on October 4, 2023, and guided by the C3 Framework. Grade 3 is 'Connecticut and Local History', with 27 content standards written like 3.His.2.a. U.S. geography and the five U.S. regions are not part of Connecticut's Grade 3 year.

Official standards

Grade 3 differences

1. In Connecticut

   Social studies: children compare the origins, functions and structure of the Constitution of the State of Connecticut with the U.S. Constitution (3.Civ.5.a) and explain how a bill becomes a law in Connecticut (3.Civ.4.b).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Social Studies Week 20 (three branches): compare the Connecticut and U.S. constitutions, and trace the steps a bill takes to become a Connecticut law.

2. In Connecticut

   Social studies: children compare the Northeastern Woodland Native American tribes of Connecticut, past and present (3.His.2.a), explain why the tribes' sovereignty matters (3.Civ.4.a) and how tribes and ethnic communities have kept their cultural identity over time (3.Geo.4.b).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Social Studies Weeks 6 and 12 (Native peoples; Native nations across regions): focus on the Northeastern Woodland tribes of Connecticut, past and present, talk about what it means that a tribe governs itself, and look at how a tribal museum or festival keeps traditions alive.

3. In Connecticut

   Social studies: children explain how local, state and federal taxes, such as income, property and sales tax, pay for community services (3.Eco.12.a).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Social Studies Week 19 (local government): add a lesson on the taxes families pay and the services each one pays for, such as schools, roads and the fire department.

4. In Connecticut

   Social studies: children ask questions about people in Connecticut who worked for change, with examples such as Thomas Hooker, Nathan Hale, Rev. James W. C. Pennington, Sarah Harris and Prudence Crandall (3.His.3.a).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Social Studies Week 17 (state project): choose Connecticut and include one or two of the people the standards name.

5. In Connecticut

   Social studies: children explain how access to natural resources shaped where Connecticut industries grew, with examples such as Naval Submarine Base New London, textile mills, a paper mill and quarries (3.Geo.8.a), and how industries become more productive by investing in education and technology (3.Eco.13.a).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Social Studies Week 28 (interdependence) or Week 29 (resource maps): map Connecticut industries and the natural resources near them, and talk about how job training, machinery and clean energy help an industry make more.

6. In Connecticut

   Social studies: children put events in order to show how Connecticut innovations and industries developed (3.His.1.a), use sources such as maps, patents and photographs to explain why an innovator or innovation mattered (3.His.9.a), and compare and question historical sources (3.His.10.a, 3.His.11.a, 3.His.12.a).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Social Studies Week 8 (how our community began) or flex Week 14: make a timeline of Connecticut inventions and industries from two or three old sources, and ask of each source who made it, for whom and why.

7. In Connecticut

   Social studies: children describe the role of financial institutions in Connecticut, such as banks and the insurance industry (3.Eco.9.a).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Social Studies Week 30 (earning, banks and budgets): add what banks and insurance companies do for Connecticut families and businesses.

8. In Connecticut

   Social studies: children use local and Connecticut state maps to describe cultural and environmental features over time (3.Geo.3.a).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Social Studies Weeks 3-4 (maps and globes; landforms, water and resources): use a Connecticut state map as well as a local map.

Grade 3 public-school test

Smarter Balanced Assessments

English language arts and math tests in Grades 3-8.

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. Connecticut homeschool page

Sources

• Mathematics 3-5 Domain Progressions, Grade 3 standards list (CT Core Standards library) · Connecticut State Department of Education
• Mathematics: Standards, Frameworks, and Related Resources · Connecticut State Department of Education
• CT Core Standards · Connecticut State Department of Education
• Connecticut Core Standards English Language Arts, K-5 Standards Progression · Connecticut State Department of Education
• Science Standards and Resources · Connecticut State Department of Education
• State Board of Education Minutes, November 4, 2015 (adoption of the science standards) · Connecticut State Board of Education
• Third grade performance expectations (the national science standards document the State Board adopted) · National science standards site, linked by the Connecticut State Department of Education
• Connecticut Elementary and Secondary Social Studies Standards · Connecticut State Department of Education
• State Board of Education Minutes, October 4, 2023 (adoption of the social studies standards) · Connecticut State Board of Education
• Smarter Balanced Assessments · Connecticut State Department of Education

Verified 2026-10-08