Virginia 3rd Grade Curriculum & Standards Guide

Virginia standards

Math

2023 Mathematics Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools

State's own standards · adopted 2023

Approved by the Board of Education on August 31, 2023 and in full use since 2024-25. Virginia writes its own standards, with codes such as 3.NS.4. Grade 3 adds six-digit numbers, money to $5.00, mixed numbers and U.S. customary measures to what Third Grade teaches, and leaves area formulas, multistep multiplication problems and quadrilateral types to Grade 4.

Official standards

English Language Arts

2024 English Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools

State's own standards · adopted 2024

Approved by the Board of Education on March 28, 2024. The state's Grade 3 Reading test blueprint for these standards takes effect with the spring 2027 tests, so they are the ones that apply in 2026-27; codes look like 3.RL.1.A. Grade 3 children learn cursive (3.FFW.1.B to 3.FFW.1.D), and Grade 3 has no standard for dialogue punctuation, plural or abstract nouns, conjunctions or complex sentences.

Official standards

Science

2018 Science Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools

State's own standards · adopted 2018

Virginia's own standards, adopted October 2018 and still in effect for 2026-27, with codes such as 3.4c. Grade 3 covers forces and simple machines, materials and water, adaptations, ecosystems, soil and the water cycle. Magnets (2.2), life cycles (2.4) and weather (2.6) are Grade 2 topics here, weather returns with climate in Grade 4 (4.4), and inherited traits are not a Grade 3 topic.

Official standards

Social Studies

2023 History and Social Science Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools

State's own standards

Approved by the Board of Education on April 20, 2023 and in full use since 2025-26; codes look like 3.9c. Grade 3 studies ancient Egypt, China, Greece, Rome and the West African empire of Mali, with world geography, citizenship, the three branches and basic economics.

Official standards

Grade 3 differences

1. In Virginia

   Social studies: Grade 3 history is the ancient world. Children study the geography, government, arts, innovations and architecture of ancient Egypt, China, Greece, Rome and the empire of Mali (3.4 to 3.8), while Third Grade studies U.S. communities.

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Social Studies Weeks 12, 13, 15 and 16 (Native nations; movement and trade; culture; immigration) and flex Week 14: study one ancient civilization each week: Egypt, China, Greece, Rome and Mali.

2. In Virginia

   Social studies: locate and describe the seven continents and five oceans, the equator, the Prime Meridian and the four hemispheres (3.2); locate the major bodies of water and mountain ranges of the ancient societies and explain how geography shaped lives and events there (3.3).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Social Studies Week 3 (maps and globes): label the seven continents and five oceans, then add the equator, Prime Meridian and four hemispheres. Week 4 (landforms, water and resources): on a world map, find the main rivers, seas and mountain ranges near each ancient society and talk about how they shaped life there.

3. In Virginia

   Math: read and write six-digit numbers and compare and order numbers to 9,999 (3.NS.1, 3.NS.2); count, compare and make change for money up to $5.00 (3.NS.4). Common Core keeps Grade 3 within 1,000 and places money in Grade 2.

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Math Week 1 (place value and rounding): read and write numbers to 999,999 and compare four-digit numbers. Math Weeks 2-3 (add and subtract within 1,000): count coins and bills and make change from $5.00.

4. In Virginia

   Math: fractions use denominators 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10 and include improper fractions and mixed numbers (3.NS.3); children estimate and measure in pounds, cups, pints, quarts and gallons as well as kilograms and liters (3.MG.1).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Math Weeks 19-22 (fractions): include fifths and tenths and write fractions greater than one as mixed numbers. Math Week 26 (mass and liquid volume): also measure in pounds, cups, pints, quarts and gallons, estimating first.

5. In Virginia

   ELA: write capital and lowercase letters in cursive, join letters within names and words and sign first and last name (3.FFW.1.B to 3.FFW.1.D).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

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

6. In Virginia

   Science: simple and compound machines (3.2), how materials mix with and dissolve in water (3.3), soil (3.6), the water cycle (3.7) and conserving water and soil (3.8) are Grade 3 topics in Virginia.

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Science Week 7 (magnet design problem): add two days on simple machines such as levers, pulleys and ramps. Science Week 23 or 32 (flex week): model the water cycle, test what dissolves in hot and cold water, look at what soil is made of and list ways to save water and soil.

7. In Virginia

   ELA: Virginia adds avoiding double negatives (3.LU.1.F), capitalizing holidays, names and places (3.LU.2.C) and avoiding plagiarism by giving credit to sources (3.R.1.E).

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   ELA Week 13 (revise and edit): add a check for double negatives and for capitals on holidays, names and places. ELA Weeks 28-30 (research report): have your child list the title and author of each source used.

8. In Virginia

   Math: several topics Third Grade teaches come in Grade 4 in Virginia: multistep multiplication problems and multiplying larger numbers (4.CE.2), multiplication patterns (4.PFA.1), elapsed time in hours and minutes (4.MG.2), area formulas (4.MG.3), quarter inches and grams (4.MG.1) and types of quadrilaterals (4.MG.5). Line plots are not in Grade 3.

   Suggested swap in Third Grade

   Math Weeks 15-16 (two-step problems; patterns, multiplying by multiples of 10), Week 25 (time), Weeks 28-29 (area) and Week 34 (quadrilaterals): teach as written and treat them as a head start on Grade 4. If time is short, these are the weeks to shorten to make room for the Virginia topics above.

Grade 3 public-school test

Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) Tests, Grade 3 Reading and Mathematics

Grade 3 public-school students take reading and mathematics tests, given online in a computer adaptive form, plus fall and winter Virginia Growth Assessments in the same subjects.

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. Virginia homeschool page

Sources

• Standards of Learning for Mathematics (2023) · Virginia Department of Education
• Grade 3 Mathematics Standards of Learning (2023) · Virginia Department of Education
• 2024 Standards of Learning for English · Virginia Department of Education
• English Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools, K-12 (adopted March 28, 2024) · Virginia Department of Education
• Test Blueprint, Grade 3 Reading, 2024 English Standards of Learning (effective with the spring 2027 tests) · Virginia Department of Education
• Science Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools (2018), Grade 3, with technical edits · Virginia Department of Education
• History and Social Science Standards of Learning (April 2023), Grade 3 · Virginia Department of Education
• 2023 History and Social Science Standards of Learning Frequently Asked Questions · Virginia Department of Education
• Virginia SOL Assessment Program · Virginia Department of Education
• Growth Assessments · Virginia Department of Education

Verified 2026-10-08