3
    Third GradePowered by ThirdGrade.com

    States · WI

    Wisconsin 3rd Grade Curriculum & Standards Guide

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

    ← All states

    Your state: not chosen · change ·

    Wisconsin standards

    Math

    Wisconsin Standards for Mathematics (2021)

    Based on Common Core · adopted 2021

    Adopted May 2021 as a revision of the 2010 Common Core standards; these apply in 2026-27. Codes look like M.3.OA.D.7. Wisconsin removed the standard on finding the unknown number in a multiplication or division equation, so later codes in that group shift by one. Grade 3 asks for efficient facts only with 0, 1, 2, 5 and 10 (M.3.OA.C.6.b); all facts within 100 are Grade 4 (M.4.OA.D.6), so Third Grade goes further.

    Official standards

    English Language Arts

    Wisconsin Standards for English Language Arts (2020)

    Based on Common Core · adopted 2020

    Revised in 2020 from the 2010 Common Core standards; these apply in 2026-27. Reading is one merged strand (R.3.1 to R.3.9), writing runs W.3.1 to W.3.9 with opinion, informative and narrative writing as parts of one standard (W.3.2), and Language is renumbered L.3.1 to L.3.6. Writing may be done by printing, cursive or typing (W.3.6), so cursive is a choice, not a requirement.

    Official standards

    Science

    Wisconsin Standards for Science

    Based on the national science framework · adopted 2017

    Adopted November 2017 and reviewed in 2025 with Grade 3 unchanged. Built from the national framework; the state says districts may use the national science standards instead. Codes look like SCI.PS2.A.3, where the last number is a recommended grade within the 3-5 band, so Third Grade's topics fit.

    Official standards

    Social Studies

    Wisconsin Standards for Social Studies (2018)

    State standards informed by the national social studies framework

    Adopted May 2018. Standards are written for the Grade 3-5 band: a code ending in 3 (for example SS.Geog2.a.3) is recommended for Grade 3, and one ending in i can be taught any time in Grades 3-5. Districts decide the order. State law also requires teaching the history, culture and tribal sovereignty of the American Indian nations in Wisconsin.

    Official standards

    Standard-by-standard crosswalk

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

    • Math: 31 same · 4 close · 2 partly · 0 not in Grade 3
    • English Language Arts: 34 same · 40 close · 9 partly · 7 not in Grade 3
    • Science: 0 same · 18 close · 0 partly · 0 not in Grade 3
    Open the Wisconsin crosswalk

    Grade 3 differences

    1. In Wisconsin

      Math: children make estimates for real-world problems within 1,000 using mental math, benchmark numbers, compatible numbers and rounding, and judge whether an estimate is too low or too high (M.3.NBT.A.1). Common Core asks only for rounding to the nearest 10 or 100.

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Math Week 1 (place value and rounding): add two days of estimating with benchmark and compatible numbers (for example 248 + 251 is about 250 + 250), and ask whether each estimate is too low or too high.

    2. In Wisconsin

      Social studies (recommended for Grade 3): children compare rural, suburban, urban and tribal communities (SS.Geog2.a.3). State law also has schools teach the history, culture and tribal sovereignty of the American Indian nations in Wisconsin (Wis. Stat. 121.02(1)(L)4).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Social Studies Week 2 (community types): add tribal communities; Weeks 6 and 12 (Native peoples; Native nations across regions): study the American Indian nations in Wisconsin and what tribal sovereignty means.

    3. In Wisconsin

      ELA: Wisconsin adds three things the national list does not have: knowing when to drop the final e or double the final consonant before an ending (RF.3.3.e), using easily confused words such as to, too and two correctly (L.3.5.e), and comparing how language is used at home, in the community and in writing (L.3.1.a).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      ELA weekly word study (the suffix weeks): teach the drop-the-e and doubling rules (hope, hoping; hop, hopping) and practice to, too, two and there, their, they're. ELA Week 13 (revise and edit): talk about how the same message sounds at home and in a letter.

    4. In Wisconsin

      Social studies (recommended for Grade 3): children give an example of the factors of production (land, labor, capital, entrepreneurship) for a product (SS.Econ2.c.3) and trace the chain of supply for a needed product such as food or shelter (SS.Econ4.a.3).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Social Studies Week 25 (producers and consumers): name the land, labor, capital and entrepreneur behind one product; Week 28 (interdependence): trace one food from farm to table.

    5. In Wisconsin

      Social studies (recommended for Grade 3): children weigh the costs and benefits of a decision and sort limited resources (SS.Econ1.a.3), compare two local markets and tell goods from services (SS.Econ2.a.3-4, Grades 3-4), and compare what two regions specialize in (SS.Econ4.e.3).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Social Studies Week 24 (economics basics): list the costs and benefits of one family decision; Week 26 (scarcity and markets): compare two local markets, such as a grocery store and a farmers' market, and sort goods from services; Week 13 (movement and trade): compare what two regions produce.

    6. In Wisconsin

      Social studies (recommended for Grades 3-4): children describe how media are used in elections, the roles people play in elections and what civic institutions do (SS.PS3.b.3-4).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Social Studies Week 22 (voting): add a lesson on who takes part in an election (voters, candidates, poll workers) and look at one election advertisement or news story together.

    7. In Wisconsin

      Social studies (recommended for Grades 3-4): children compare the positive and negative effects of human actions on the physical environment over time, such as the availability of water and fertility of soils (SS.Geog5.a.3-4).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Social Studies Week 4 (landforms, water and resources): add a lesson on how people have helped and harmed local water and soil over time.

    8. In Wisconsin

      Social studies (any time in Grades 3-5): children compare events in Wisconsin history to a current issue or event (SS.Hist3.a.i).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Social Studies Week 17 state project: choose Wisconsin and link one event in Wisconsin history to something happening today.

    Grade 3 public-school test

    Wisconsin Forward Exam

    Grade 3 public-school students take English language arts and mathematics (grades 3-8). Science is tested in grades 4 and 8; social studies in grades 4, 8 and 10.

    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. Wisconsin homeschool page

    Sources

    Verified 2026-10-08