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    South Dakota 3rd Grade Curriculum & Standards Guide

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

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    South Dakota standards

    Math

    South Dakota State Standards for Mathematics (2018)

    Based on Common Core · adopted 2018

    The 2018 standards apply in 2026-27; the set adopted May 4, 2026 is in transition this year and is taught from 2027-28. The 2018 codes follow the national ones without cluster letters, for example 3.OA.1. Grade 3 adds money written with a dollar sign and decimal point (3.MD.9) and moves knowing all one-digit products from memory to Grade 4 (4.OA.1.b).

    Official standards

    English Language Arts

    South Dakota English Language Arts Standards (2025)

    Based on Common Core · adopted 2025

    Adopted April 14, 2025 and taught in 2026-27; official pages disagree on whether the first test is spring 2027 or 2027-28. Codes put the grade first, as in 3.RF.3.a, and several lettered parts are added or re-lettered. Grade 3 includes writing in print and cursive (3.L.2.a).

    Official standards

    Science

    South Dakota Science Standards (2024)

    National science standards · adopted 2024

    Adopted April 22, 2024, using the national science standards and the Framework as references. Grade 3 uses the same performance expectations and codes as the national Grade 3 list, such as 3-LS4-3, with engineering written for Grades 3-5.

    Official standards

    Social Studies

    South Dakota Social Studies Standards (2023)

    State's own standards

    Adopted April 17, 2023. Grade 3 is a history year, 'World: To 60 B.C.E. and America 1492-1763': ancient civilizations, Greece and Rome, exploration and the colonies, plus South Dakota and U.S. geography. Codes look like 3.SS.2.B.

    Official standards

    Standard-by-standard crosswalk

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

    • Math: 34 same · 2 close · 1 partly · 0 not in Grade 3
    • English Language Arts: 56 same · 33 close · 0 partly · 1 not in Grade 3
    • Science: 18 same · 0 close · 0 partly · 0 not in Grade 3
    Open the South Dakota crosswalk

    Grade 3 differences

    1. In South Dakota

      Social studies: Grade 3 world history covers ancient civilizations up to 60 B.C.E., such as Ancient India, Babylon, Persia and Ancient China (3.SS.3.B), then Ancient Greece and the Roman Republic (3.SS.4). The C3 Framework does not assign these periods to Grade 3.

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Social Studies Week 5 and Week 14 (flex weeks): read about one ancient civilization each week (for example Ancient China and Babylon) and add them to a world timeline. Use Week 23 and Week 32 (flex weeks) for Ancient Greece and the Roman Republic.

    2. In South Dakota

      Social studies: American history from 1492 to 1763, including the founding of Jamestown with John Smith, Matoaka (Pocahontas) and John Rolfe (3.SS.6.E), and Britain's 'salutary neglect' of the colonies (3.SS.7.F).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Social Studies Week 7 (explorers and settlers): focus on Columbus and Jamestown, and add a day on how Britain mostly left the colonies to run their own affairs ('salutary neglect') and how that helped the colonists.

    3. In South Dakota

      Social studies: locate all fifty states (3.SS.2.B); South Dakota, Pierre, Rapid City and Sioux Falls (3.SS.2.F); the major reservations in South Dakota (3.SS.2.G); and the Black Hills and Missouri River (3.SS.2.H).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Social Studies Week 10 (U.S. geography): label all fifty states, then add Pierre, Rapid City, Sioux Falls, the Missouri River, the Black Hills and the major reservations to a South Dakota map.

    4. In South Dakota

      Social studies: compare two Native American tribes, one from South Dakota (3.SS.5.B).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Social Studies Week 12 (Native nations across regions): compare a Lakota, Dakota or Nakota nation with one other tribe.

    5. In South Dakota

      Social studies: explain the history of slavery and compare it with indentured servitude (3.SS.5.F), and show how taxes work using counters, drawings or math (3.SS.1.B).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Social Studies Week 13 (movement and trade): add a lesson on slavery and indentured servitude in the colonies. Week 19 (local government): use counters to show how a tax takes a share of what people earn or buy.

    6. In South Dakota

      Math (2018 standards, used in 2026-27): find the value of a collection of money using a dollar sign and decimal point (3.MD.9) and tell time on both analog and digital clocks (3.MD.1). The 2026 standards, taught from 2027-28, extend money to $100 (3.M.17) and multiplication facts through 12 (3.MF.1).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Math Week 32 (flex week): count collections of coins and bills and write the totals with a dollar sign and decimal point. Math Week 25 (time): read each time on both an analog and a digital clock.

    7. In South Dakota

      ELA: write legibly in print and cursive (3.L.2.a). Common Core has no cursive standard.

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      ELA Weeks 1-36 (weekly word study): add 10 minutes of cursive practice two or three days a week.

    8. In South Dakota

      ELA: identify how a text is organized, such as time order, comparison, cause and effect, or problem and solution (3.RI.5); correctly use often-confused words such as your and you're (3.L.1.j); and cooperate and solve problems in group discussions (3.SL.1.e).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      ELA Week 6 (informational text features): also name how each text is organized. ELA Week 13 (revise and edit): add a lesson on your and you're and similar pairs.

    Grade 3 public-school test

    SD ELA and Math Assessments (Grades 3-8)

    For homeschool testing rules, check with your state's education department.

    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.

    Sources

    Verified 2026-10-08