Michigan 3rd Grade Curriculum & Standards Guide

Michigan standards

Math

Michigan K-12 Standards for Mathematics

Common Core · adopted 2010

Common Core, adopted in 2010. All 37 Grade 3 expectations match the national standards word for word, so Grade 3 math matches Third Grade. The Michigan document prints the codes without the cluster letter, for example 3.MD.7 instead of 3.MD.C.7.

Official standards

English Language Arts

Michigan K-12 Standards for English Language Arts

Common Core · adopted 2010

Common Core, adopted in 2010. Grade 3 matches Third Grade; the only wording change is "grade-level text" for "on-level text" in the two fluency items (RF.3.4).

Official standards

Science

Michigan K-12 Science Standards

National science standards · adopted 2015

Adopted November 2015 and built on the national framework. The 15 Grade 3 expectations match the codes Third Grade uses, for example 3-LS4-1. Michigan prints three engineering design expectations for Grades 3-5 right after the Grade 3 list (3-5-ETS1-1 to 3-5-ETS1-3); Third Grade covers these too.

Official standards

Social Studies

Michigan K-12 Social Studies Standards

State standards informed by the national social studies framework

Dated June 2019. Grade 3 is Michigan Studies: Michigan's history through statehood, its geography and regions, state government, economy and public issues. Codes look like 3-G4.0.1 (Grade 3, Geography standard 4, expectation 1).

Official standards

Grade 3 differences

1. In Michigan

   Social studies: Grade 3 is Michigan Studies, for example using thematic maps to describe Michigan's physical and human features (3-G1.0.2) and dividing Michigan into regions (3-G2.0.1).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Social Studies Week 17 (state project): choose Michigan. In Week 3 (maps and globes) use Michigan maps, and in Week 11 (five U.S. regions) also divide Michigan into regions.

2. In Michigan

   Social studies: Grade 3 history runs through statehood. Children describe how Michigan became a state (3-H3.0.9), make a timeline of early Michigan history (3-H3.0.10) and write about daily life in early settlements from primary and secondary sources (3-H3.0.7).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Social Studies Week 8 (how our community began): tell the story of how Michigan became a state, and build a timeline of early Michigan history that you add to through Weeks 6-8. Have your child write a few sentences about daily life in an early Michigan settlement, using an old photo, map or letter.

3. In Michigan

   Social studies: children compare how Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous Peoples in Michigan's early history used and changed their environments (3-H3.0.5).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Social Studies Weeks 6-7 (Native peoples; explorers and settlers): focus on the Anishinaabek and other Indigenous Peoples of Michigan and on Michigan's early European settlers.

4. In Michigan

   Social studies: children use current information about the Anishinaabek and other Indigenous Peoples living in Michigan today to describe modern cultural life, such as tribal citizenship, tribal governments and treaty rights (3-G4.0.4).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Social Studies Week 12 (Native nations across regions): study a tribal nation in Michigan today, using its own website or news, and talk about tribal government and treaty rights.

5. In Michigan

   Social studies: civics is about Michigan's government. Children tell apart the roles of tribal, state and local governments (3-C3.0.1), identify the three branches of state government and their powers (3-C3.0.3), explain how state courts settle conflicts (3-C3.0.4) and describe the purpose of the Michigan Constitution (3-C3.0.5).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Social Studies Weeks 19-20 (local government; three branches): add a chart of Michigan's legislature, governor's office and courts, compare what tribal, state and local governments do, and read what the Michigan Constitution is for.

6. In Michigan

   Social studies: six expectations cover Michigan public issues and civic action. Children identify and analyze a public issue (3-P3.1.1 to 3-P3.1.3), write a paragraph taking a position (3-P3.3.1), and make and carry out an action plan (3-P4.2.1, 3-P4.2.2).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Social Studies Weeks 33-34 (civic action) and Week 35 (community project): pick a public issue in Michigan, have your child write a paragraph taking a position, then plan and carry out a small project on it.

7. In Michigan

   Social studies: children describe Michigan's major economic activities today (agriculture, forestry, manufacturing, services, tourism, and research and development) and explain what influences where they are located, such as being near natural resources or markets (3-G4.0.1).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Social Studies Weeks 28-29 (interdependence; resource maps): map where Michigan's main economic activities are found and talk about why each is located there, then trace one Michigan product from producer to consumer.

8. In Michigan

   Social studies: children use a Michigan example to explain scarcity, choice and opportunity cost (3-E1.0.1), and identify incentives that influence economic decisions people make in Michigan (3-E1.0.2).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Social Studies Week 26 (scarcity and markets): use a Michigan example, such as cherries or cars, and ask what incentives, such as a sale or a higher wage, change people's choices.

Grade 3 public-school test

M-STEP (Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress)

Given in Grades 3-8 and 11; check the page for the subjects tested in Grade 3.

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. Michigan homeschool page

Sources

• Academic Standards · Michigan Department of Education
• Michigan K-12 Standards for Mathematics · Michigan Department of Education
• Mathematics Grade 3 Crosswalk: Claims, Targets, and Standards (M-STEP, 2015) · Michigan Department of Education
• Michigan K-12 Standards for English Language Arts · Michigan Department of Education
• Michigan K-12 Social Studies Standards · Michigan Department of Education
• Michigan K-12 Science Standards · Michigan Department of Education
• M-STEP · Michigan Department of Education
• Homeschooling in Michigan · Michigan Department of Education

Verified 2026-10-08