States · DC
District of Columbia 3rd Grade Curriculum & Standards Guide
How District of Columbia's third grade standards line up with Third Grade.
Your state: not chosen · change ·
District of Columbia standards
- Math
Common Core State Standards for Mathematics
Common Core · adopted 2010
The District adopted the Common Core in July 2010 and it remains in force for 2026-27, so Grade 3 math matches Third Grade: multiplication and division within 100, fractions, area and perimeter.
- English Language Arts
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy
Common Core · adopted 2010
Adopted in July 2010 together with math. Grade 3 reading, writing and language match Third Grade. The District adds no handwriting or cursive standard.
- Science
District of Columbia K-12 Science Standards (the national science standards)
National science standards · adopted 2013
The DC State Board of Education adopted the national science standards in December 2013. Grade 3 covers forces, life cycles and traits, ecosystems and fossils, and weather and climate, as in Third Grade, with the national codes, such as 3-PS2-1.
- Social Studies
Washington, DC K-12 Social Studies Standards (2023)
State's own standards
Approved by the DC State Board of Education on June 21, 2023 and used in DC public schools from 2024-25. Grade 3 is a full-year course, 'Geography, History, and Cultures of the District of Columbia', with 42 standards (3.1 to 3.42), all about Washington, DC. None covers economics, the three branches of government or U.S. regions, so Third Grade's economics weeks (24-26 and 28-31) go beyond what DC asks in Grade 3.
Standard-by-standard crosswalk
See every national third grade standard matched to District of Columbia's own codes.
- Math: 37 same · 0 close · 0 partly · 0 not in Grade 3
- English Language Arts: 90 same · 0 close · 0 partly · 0 not in Grade 3
- Science: 18 same · 0 close · 0 partly · 0 not in Grade 3
Grade 3 differences
In District of Columbia
Social studies: Grade 3 is 'Geography, History, and Cultures of the District of Columbia', a whole year on Washington, DC (3.1-3.42), while Third Grade studies U.S. communities in general.
Suggested swap in Third Grade
Social Studies Week 17 (state project): choose Washington, DC. In Weeks 1-2 (communities; community types) use DC neighborhoods as your examples.
In District of Columbia
Social studies: locate Washington, DC on a map using directions, scale and legend, name the physical features of the Washington area, and identify the city's wards and compare their landmarks, roads, transit lines and parks (3.2, 3.6).
Suggested swap in Third Grade
Social Studies Weeks 3-4 (maps and globes; landforms, water and resources): map Washington, DC with a scale and legend, mark its rivers and other physical features, and label the wards with one landmark each.
In District of Columbia
Social studies: identify the ancestral lands of the Nacotchtank (Anacostan), Piscataway and Pamunkey peoples, describe each nation, and learn about Piscataway and Pamunkey communities in the area today (3.13, 3.14).
Suggested swap in Third Grade
Social Studies Weeks 6 and 12 (Native peoples; Native nations across regions): study the Nacotchtank, Piscataway and Pamunkey peoples, past and present.
In District of Columbia
Social studies: slavery and the lives of Black Americans in the Chesapeake region, why Washington was chosen as the capital, the Civil War and DC Emancipation Day, segregation, and the Black U Street community of the 1920s and 1930s (3.17-3.25).
Suggested swap in Third Grade
Social Studies Weeks 7-8 (explorers and settlers; how our community began): tell how Washington became the capital and build a DC timeline through the Civil War, DC Emancipation Day and the U Street years.
In District of Columbia
Social studies: the structure of DC government, including the mayor and the DC Council, the Home Rule movement, and how being a federal district without statehood affects residents' rights (3.30, 3.33, 3.36).
Suggested swap in Third Grade
Social Studies Weeks 19-20 (local government; three branches): study the mayor and the DC Council, and talk about how DC's voice in Congress differs from a state's.
In District of Columbia
Social studies: identify political movements in DC, such as women's suffrage, the 1963 March on Washington and the Poor People's March, and judge how the labor, civil rights, disability rights, LGBTQ+ and suffrage movements changed life for residents (3.27, 3.28).
Suggested swap in Third Grade
Social Studies Weeks 21-22 (citizens' rights and responsibilities; voting): study the suffrage marches and the 1963 March on Washington, and talk about one way a movement changed life for people in DC.
In District of Columbia
Social studies: take action on a DC issue: weigh a current proposal to change the city and support or oppose it (3.10), name ways residents can influence local government (3.35), and make a plan of action on a challenge facing DC residents (3.42).
Suggested swap in Third Grade
Social Studies Weeks 33-35 (civic action; community project): pick a real proposal or problem in DC, decide where you stand and why, and write a plan that includes one way to reach the mayor or the DC Council.
In District of Columbia
Social studies: the growth of Asian American, Latinx, East African and Caribbean communities in the city, and local culture such as go-go music, the Smithsonian museums, embassies and monuments (3.26, 3.37, 3.40, 3.41).
Suggested swap in Third Grade
Social Studies Weeks 15-16 (culture; immigration): learn about the communities that settled in DC, listen to go-go music and visit or read about one monument or museum.
Grade 3 public-school test
District of Columbia Comprehensive Assessments of Progress in Education (DC CAPE)
Grade 3 public-school students take DC CAPE in English language arts and math (grades 3-8). Science is tested in grades 5 and 8 and in high school biology.
Shown for context. Homeschool testing rules are separate; see below.
Homeschool rules
Check your state's current homeschool rules with its education department. District of Columbia homeschool page
Sources
- Washington, DC K-12 Social Studies Standards (adopted June 2023) · Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)
- OSSE Adopts New Social Studies Standards for District of Columbia Students · Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)
- Social Studies · Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)
- Common Core State Standards · Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)
- DC science standards page · Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)
- Grades 3-5 arrangement of the national science standards (PDF), third grade pages · National science standards site, linked by OSSE
- DC CAPE · Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)
- Apply to Homeschool · Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)
- Social Studies Standards · DC State Board of Education
- District of Columbia Standards of Learning · Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)
Verified 2026-10-08