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    New Jersey 3rd Grade Curriculum & Standards Guide

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

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    New Jersey standards

    Math

    2023 New Jersey Student Learning Standards - Mathematics (NJSLS-M)

    Based on Common Core · adopted 2023

    Adopted October 4, 2023, and required in schools since September 2024. Grade 3 keeps Common Core content but adds a Data Literacy domain (3.DL), which also holds graphs and line plots (3.DL.B.3, 3.DL.B.4), and renames Measurement (3.M), so area and perimeter are 3.M.B.3 to 3.M.C.6.

    Official standards

    English Language Arts

    2023 New Jersey Student Learning Standards - English Language Arts (NJSLS-ELA)

    Based on Common Core · adopted 2023

    Adopted October 4, 2023, a revision of the 2016 Common Core-based standards, and required in schools since September 2024. New Jersey uses its own codes, for example RL.CR.3.1 (asking and answering questions about a story) and W.AW.3.1 (opinion writing). Phonics, fluency, spelling and grammar sit in the Language domain (L.RF.3.3, L.RF.3.4, L.WF.3.2, L.WF.3.3).

    Official standards

    Science

    2026 New Jersey Student Learning Standards - Science (NJSLS-S)

    National science standards · adopted 2026

    Readopted June 3, 2026, for 2026-27. The Grade 3 page lists 15 expectations with the national codes and wording (for example 3-LS4-1), with the two weather and climate expectations marked for climate-related learning. The three Grades 3-5 engineering design expectations (3-5-ETS1-1 to 3-5-ETS1-3) are printed on the Grade 5 page.

    Official standards

    Social Studies

    2020 New Jersey Student Learning Standards - Social Studies

    State standards informed by the national social studies framework

    Adopted June 3, 2020. There are no Grade 3 codes: expectations are set by the end of Grade 2 and the end of Grade 5 (for example 6.1.5.CivicsPI.5), so Grade 3 families can spread the Grade 3-5 content over three years.

    Official standards

    Standard-by-standard crosswalk

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

    • Math: 32 same · 5 close · 0 partly · 0 not in Grade 3
    • English Language Arts: 42 same · 38 close · 3 partly · 7 not in Grade 3
    • Science: 15 same · 3 close · 0 partly · 0 not in Grade 3
    Open the New Jersey crosswalk

    Grade 3 differences

    1. In New Jersey

      Math: the Data Literacy domain asks children to develop their own data questions and collect data to answer them (3.DL.A.1, 3.DL.A.2).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Math Week 35 (graphs): let your child pose a question, collect real data at home and graph it.

    2. In New Jersey

      ELA: Grade 3 writing asks children to swap weak verbs and common nouns for stronger, more precise ones, paraphrase to vary their sentences, organize ideas into paragraphs (L.WF.3.3) and use sensory details in stories (W.NW.3.3). The national list does not ask for these in Grade 3.

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      ELA Weeks 10-12 (narrative writing): ask for details of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. ELA Week 13 (revise and edit): have your child replace three plain verbs or nouns, reword one sentence and check that each paragraph has a main idea and details.

    3. In New Jersey

      ELA: in word study, children work out which parts of high-frequency words follow regular spelling patterns and which are irregular (L.RF.3.3), and notice the language a word comes from in a dictionary entry (L.WF.3.2).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      ELA weekly word study (Weeks 1-36): once a week mark the regular and irregular parts of one tricky word, and look up one word's origin in a children's dictionary.

    4. In New Jersey

      ELA: under the Cursive Handwriting Act (P.L. 2025, c.284), New Jersey public schools must teach cursive in Grades 3 through 5 starting in 2026-27, so that children can read and legibly write cursive by the end of Grade 5. This is a law for public schools, not a standards code.

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      ELA weekly word study (Weeks 1-36): Third Grade does not teach cursive, so add about 10 minutes of cursive practice two or three days a week if you want to match what New Jersey public schools now teach.

    5. In New Jersey

      Math: two-step word problems include problems involving money (3.OA.D.8). Third Grade does not teach money.

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Math Week 15 (two-step problems): add a few two-step problems with prices in whole dollars or in cents, such as buying two items and working out the change.

    6. In New Jersey

      Social studies (by the end of Grade 5): children use sources to infer the impact of European colonization on Native American peoples, including the Lenni Lenape of New Jersey, and how Lenni Lenape culture shows up in New Jersey today (6.1.5.HistoryCC.6, 6.1.5.HistoryCC.8).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Social Studies Weeks 6 and 12 (Native peoples; Native nations across regions): focus on the Lenni Lenape.

    7. In New Jersey

      Social studies (by the end of Grade 5): children compare New Jersey's regions and how geography, natural resources, climate, transportation and technology shape economic opportunities (6.1.5.EconEM.4, 6.1.5.EconNE.2).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      Social Studies Week 29 (resource maps): map New Jersey's regions and resources, and choose New Jersey for the Week 17 state project.

    8. In New Jersey

      ELA: some national Grade 3 grammar is not in New Jersey's Grade 3 list. Comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs come in Grade 4 (L.WF.4.3), and abstract nouns, subordinating conjunctions, complex sentences and keyboarding are not named in Grade 3; Grade 3 asks for compound sentences with and, but, or, yet and so (L.WF.3.3).

      Suggested swap in Third Grade

      ELA Week 13 (revise and edit): nothing to add. Make sure your child can join two simple sentences with and, but, or, yet or so, and treat any work on the other skills as a head start.

    Grade 3 public-school test

    New Jersey Student Learning Assessments-Adaptive (NJSLA-Adaptive)

    The department lists NJSLA-Adaptive for ELA and math and NJSLA-Science; check the page for the tests given in Grade 3.

    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 instruction as 'equivalent instruction elsewhere than at school' under N.J.S.A. 18A:38-25.

    Notice or filing

    Generally none. NJDOE encourages, but does not require, a voluntary notice. A district may ask for information only if it has credible evidence that a child is not attending school or receiving equivalent instruction; withdrawing a child to homeschool is not, by itself, credible evidence. If you withdraw a child from school, tell the school in writing.

    Where to file

    No filing required by state law

    Office website

    New Jersey Department of Education homeschooling FAQ. NJDOE general contact: PO Box 500, Trenton, NJ 08625-0500; (609) 376-3500.

    Required subjects

    No subject list in the homeschool law. Instruction must be academically equivalent to public school instruction (State v. Massa, 1967).

    Instruction time

    None specified.

    Testing or evaluation

    None. NJDOE says districts have no authority to test homeschooled children or monitor outcomes.

    Records to keep

    None required by law. Keeping a record of what you teach helps show equivalent instruction if a district asks.

    Parent or teacher qualifications

    None. No teaching certificate is required.

    Recent changes

    No change found. The NJDOE homeschooling FAQ was last updated December 10, 2024. Districts are not authorized to review or approve homeschool curricula. Compulsory school age is 6 to 16.

    Official 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