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    Georgia 3rd Grade Curriculum & Standards Guide

    How Georgia's third grade standards line up with Third Grade.

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    Georgia standards

    Math

    Georgia's K-12 Mathematics Standards

    State's own standards · adopted 2021

    Adopted in August 2021 and used in classrooms since 2023-24, replacing Georgia's Common Core-based standards. Grade 3 is close to Third Grade but reaches 10,000, adds parallel and perpendicular segments and symmetry, and measures liquid volume and mass in customary units; codes look like 3.NR.4.4. Georgia leaves comparing fractions other than unit fractions, elapsed time to the minute and line plots to Grade 4.

    Official standards

    English Language Arts

    Georgia's K-12 English Language Arts Standards

    State's own standards · adopted 2023

    Adopted by the State Board of Education in May 2023 and in full use since 2025-26, so they apply in 2026-27. The four domains are Foundations, Language, Texts and Practices, with codes such as 3.T.T.2.b, and grammar is listed as a numbered chart (3.L.GC.1.18 to 3.L.GC.1.41 in Grade 3). Cursive is introduced and practiced in Grade 3.

    Official standards

    Science

    Georgia Standards of Excellence for Science

    Based on the national science framework · adopted 2016

    Approved June 2016 and used since 2017-18. The state says the national science framework served as a foundation, but Georgia sets its own grade placements: Grade 3 is rocks and soils, fossils, heat energy, the plants, animals and habitats of Georgia's regions, and pollution and conservation. Codes look like S3L1.b.

    Official standards

    Social Studies

    Georgia Standards of Excellence for Social Studies

    State's own standards

    Grade 3 covers early U.S. history: early American Indian cultures, European exploration and the British colonies, with U.S. rivers and mountains, latitude and longitude, national and state government, and basic economics. Codes look like SS3H2.b.

    Official standards

    Standard-by-standard crosswalk

    See every national third grade standard matched to Georgia's own codes.

    • Math: 9 same · 19 close · 9 partly · 0 not in Grade 3
    • English Language Arts: 16 same · 63 close · 7 partly · 4 not in Grade 3
    • Science: 0 same · 3 close · 2 partly · 13 not in Grade 3
    Open the Georgia crosswalk

    Grade 3 differences

    1. In Georgia

      Science: Georgia's Grade 3 topics are rocks and soils (S3E1), fossils (S3E2), heat energy (S3P1), the plants, animals and habitats of Georgia's regions (S3L1) and pollution and conservation (S3L2). Forces, magnets, weather and climate, life cycles and inherited traits are not Grade 3 topics in Georgia: life cycles are Grade 2 (S2L1), forces and weather Grade 4 (S4P3, S4E4), and magnets and traits Grade 5 (S5P3, S5L2).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Science Week 5 (flex week): sort rocks by color, texture, luster and hardness and compare sand, clay and loam; Week 14 (flex week): measure how sunlight warms different objects; Week 16 (local ecosystem study): study Georgia's regions and add pollution and conservation; Week 33 (fossils): already fits Georgia, so keep it and have your child model how a fossil forms.

    2. In Georgia

      Math: children read, write and compare whole numbers up to 10,000 (3.NR.1.1, 3.NR.1.2) and solve addition and subtraction problems within 10,000 (3.PAR.2.2); fluency stays within 1,000. Common Core stays within 1,000 in Grade 3.

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Math Week 1 (place value and rounding): add four-digit numbers to 10,000; Weeks 2-3 (add and subtract within 1,000): add a few four-digit word problems each week.

    3. In Georgia

      Math: children identify parallel and perpendicular line segments and right angles in polygons (3.GSR.6.1) and lines of symmetry (3.GSR.6.3), which Common Core places in Grade 4, and estimate and measure liquid volume and mass in customary units (3.MDR.5.5).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Math Weeks 33-34 (polygons; quadrilaterals): mark parallel sides, perpendicular sides and right angles on each shape, and fold shapes to find lines of symmetry. Math Week 26 (mass and liquid volume): measure in customary units such as cups, quarts, ounces and pounds as well.

    4. In Georgia

      Social studies: Grade 3 covers six European explorers by name: John Cabot, Vasco Nunez de Balboa, Hernando de Soto, Christopher Columbus, Henry Hudson and Jacques Cartier (SS3H2), and life in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Southern colonies (SS3H3). Third Grade does not teach the colonies.

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Social Studies Week 7 (explorers and settlers): study the six explorers Georgia names; Week 8 (how our community began): compare life in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Southern colonies.

    5. In Georgia

      Social studies: children locate the Mississippi, Ohio, Rio Grande, Colorado, Hudson and St. Lawrence rivers and the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains (SS3G1), and the equator, prime meridian and lines of latitude and longitude (SS3G2).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Social Studies Week 3 (maps and globes): add the equator, prime meridian, latitude and longitude; Week 10 (U.S. geography): label the six rivers and two mountain ranges.

    6. In Georgia

      ELA: children read texts written in cursive (3.F.H.3) and form legible letters and words in cursive (3.F.H.4).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      All year: add 10 minutes of cursive reading and writing two or three days a week, starting in ELA Week 1.

    7. In Georgia

      ELA: Georgia's grammar chart expects children to master reflexive pronouns, a comma before the conjunction that joins two sentences, and hyphens at line breaks in Grade 3 (3.L.GC.1.24, 3.L.GC.1.25, 3.L.GC.1.26). Commas in addresses and the simple verb tenses are mastered in Grade 2 (2.L.GC.1.17, 2.L.GC.1.10), not taught as Grade 3 skills.

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      ELA Week 13 (revise and edit): add reflexive pronouns such as myself and themselves, commas in compound sentences and hyphens at line breaks. Treat commas in addresses and simple verb tenses in weekly lessons as review.

    8. In Georgia

      Math: in Grade 3 Georgia compares only unit fractions (3.NR.4.2), limits elapsed-time problems to the hour, half hour and quarter hour (3.MDR.5.3) and has no Grade 3 line plot objective (3.MDR.5.4). Comparing other fractions, elapsed time to the minute and plots of measurement data are Grade 4 (4.NR.4.2, 4.MDR.6.1, 4.MDR.6.3).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Math Week 22 (comparing fractions), Week 24 (measuring and line plots) and Week 25 (time): these lessons go a little past Georgia's Grade 3. Teach them as written, and do not worry if same-numerator comparisons, line plots or to-the-minute elapsed time need more time; Georgia expects them in Grade 4.

    Grade 3 public-school test

    Georgia Milestones Assessment System (Grade 3 English language arts and mathematics)

    State Board rule requires all Grade 3 public-school students to take the state English language arts and mathematics tests each year. Science testing begins in Grade 5 and social studies in Grade 8.

    About this test

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

    Homeschool rules (unofficial summary)

    Unofficial summary, not legal advice, and not endorsed by any state or agency; rules change, so check official sources and thirdgrade.com/states before acting.

    Ways to homeschool

    • Home study program under O.C.G.A. 20-2-690(c).
    • Enroll in a private school (20-2-690(b)).

    Notice or filing

    File a Declaration of Intent with the Georgia Department of Education within 30 days of starting, then by September 1 each year. The law allows written or electronic filing; GaDOE provides an online form. It lists each child's name and age, the program address, your local school system, and the 12-month period you count as your school year.

    Where to file

    Georgia Department of Education, Home School (Declaration of Intent)

    Check with your state: GaDOE Home School office (homeschool@doe.k12.ga.us) for a mailing address if you cannot file online.

    File online

    Email: homeschool@doe.k12.ga.us. No phone number is published on the filing page.

    Required subjects

    The program must 'include, but not be limited to, reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science.'

    Instruction time

    The equivalent of 180 school days each 12 months, with each school day at least 4.5 school hours (unless the child is physically unable).

    Testing or evaluation

    The instructor writes an annual progress assessment report for each required subject. A nationally standardized test is required at least every three years, beginning at the end of grade 3, so the first one falls at the end of a Grade 3 year.

    Records to keep

    Annual progress assessment reports, kept at least 3 years. Standardized test records and scores once testing begins. The home study law (20-2-690(c)) does not require attendance records to be kept or filed.

    Parent or teacher qualifications

    A parent or guardian may teach only their own children and must hold at least a high school diploma or a state-approved high school equivalency (HSE) diploma. A hired tutor must also hold at least a high school diploma or HSE diploma.

    Recent changes

    SB 179 (2026, Act 625, effective July 1, 2026) amended 20-2-690 so that a nonpublic institution offering only virtual instruction can be treated as a private school. It did not change the home study rules summarized here. Compulsory school age is 6 to 16.

    Official sources

    Other sources

    Verified 2026-09-30

    This is an unofficial, high-level summary of selected state homeschooling requirements, prepared for general information only. It is not endorsed by, affiliated with, or reviewed by any state, government agency, school district, court or other organization named in it. It is provided "as is," without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including as to accuracy, completeness or fitness for a particular purpose. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws, regulations, agency guidance, forms, addresses, phone numbers and procedures change, sometimes without notice. This summary was accurate to the best of our knowledge as of the verification date shown for each state, and we do not undertake to update the printed edition. Relevant rules may also appear in other statutes, regulations, local policies or case law not covered here, and your situation (for example, a child with special needs, a move between states or districts, or enrollment in a scholarship, charter or umbrella program) may be governed by additional rules. Before acting, consult the official sources listed for your state and, where applicable, your local school district or county office. For advice about your own situation, consider consulting a qualified attorney licensed in your state. For updates, check thirdgrade.com/states.

    Sources

    Verified 2026-10-08