3rd Grade Reading & Language Arts CRCT Study Guide
Nouns
Nouns are a person, place, thing, or
idea
Common/Proper
Nouns are always Common
(unspecific) or Proper (Specific)
Nouns
Possessive Nouns
Possessive nouns tell who or what
something belongs to.
Singular possessive noun: shows
ownership by one person or thing,
*Proper nouns always begin with a Add an apostrophe (‘) and an s to a
capital letter!
singular noun to show ownership.
Ex: Mrs. Carbaugh, Georgia,
Monday, County Line Elementary
School, Jacob
Ex: We saw George’s eggs in the nest.
Plural Possessive noun: shows
ownership by more than one person or
Common Nouns: boy, girl, teacher, thing.
cat, dog
To show ownership, add only an
apostrophe (‘) ti a plural noun that
Singular/Plural
ends in s.
Singular Nouns name one person,
Ex: These kites’ tails are made of
place, thing, or animal
rags.
Plural Nouns name more than one
Pronouns
person, place, thing, or animal.
A
word
that
takes
the place of a noun.
*Add –s or –es to make most nouns
plural. For nouns that end in a
Singular/Plural
consonant and y, change y to I and
Singular Pronoun takes the place of a
add –es.
singular noun.
* Some nouns change their spelling *Remember to always capitalize the
in the plural form and some nouns
pronoun I.
have the same spelling.
Ex: I, me, he, she, him, her, and it.
Ex: child, children
Plural Pronoun takes the place of a
deer, deer
plural noun.
Irregular Plural Nouns are nouns Ex: we, us, you, they, and them.
that have the same spelling in
Possessive Pronoun
singular and the plural forms.
A possessive pronoun shows
Abstract/Concrete
ownership. It takes the place of a
Abstract Noun: “Untouchable”
possessive noun.
Nouns – you CANNOT use your
Ex: my, your, his, her, its, our, their.
five senses to identify these nouns! Deer make their home in the forest.
*They can identify feelings,
*The noun or pronoun that a
concepts, experiences, ideas, and
possessive pronoun refers to is called
qualities.
its antecedent. The word Deer in the
Ex: beauty, love, friendship,
above sentence is an antecedent.
courage
(Their is the possessive pronoun.)
Concrete Noun: “touchable” nouns
Pronoun-Antecedent
– you CAN use your five senses to
The
antecedent
of a pronoun is the
identify these nouns!
noun or nouns the pronoun replaces.
Ex: house, book, table, phone
Ex: The stars were bright, and they
were far away.
(Stars is the antecedent of they.)
Abbreviations
An abbreviation is a short way to
write a word. Use a period after
most abbreviations.
*Remember to begin abbreviations
for proper nouns with capital letters!
Ex: Monday-Mon.
Oak Road - Oak Rd.
August - Aug.
Mister - Mr.
Pleasant Street - Pleasant St.
Commas
A comma (,) separates parts of a
sentence and helps make the
meaning clear.
- 3 or more words listed together are
called a series. In a series of 3 or
more similar words, put a comma
after each item except the last one.
The last comma should be before
and or or.
Ex: Mountains, valleys, and islands
are three natural landforms on
Earth’s surface.
- *Remember we use commas in
letters, dates, and addresses! We
also use commas to help separate
parts of a sentence.
Ex: I like birds, but I hope to find
some neat insects on my hike.
Conjunctions
Subordinate Conjunctions
(used to join complex sentences)
after, although, as, as if, as long as,
as soon as, because, before, even if,
even though, if, since, so that,
though, unless, when whenever,
wherever, whether, while
Coordinate Conjunctions
(used to join compound sentences)
**FANBOYS
For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So
Quotation Marks
Verbs
Adjectives
Direct Quotation: Someone’s
exact words are called a direct
quotation. We use quotation marks
(“ “) to show the exact words of a
speaker.
Ex: “It’s hot in here,” said Marsha.
A verb is the main word in the
predicate of a sentence.
An adjective is a word that describes
a noun.
*Modifies the Nouns and Pronouns
and Answers: What Kind? How
Many? Which Ones?
*Remember to use a comma to
separate a speaker’s words from the
other words in a sentence.
Capitalize the first word of a
quotation.
Titles
*Remember to underline the titles
of books, magazines, and
newspapers.
*Place quotation marks around the
titles of stories, poems, magazine
articles, newspaper articles, and
songs!
*Capitalize the first word, last
word, and every important word in
a title.
Adverbs
An adverb is a word that describes,
or tells about, a verb.
(Some adverbs tell how something
happens.)
*Modifies Adjectives, Verbs, &
Adverbs and Answers: How?
When? Where? To What Extent?
**Usually ends in (-ly)
Ex: really, extremely, quietly,
carefully, nervously, quite, too,
well.
Ex: The gym teacher said I ran
fast.
Firefighters and police officers
work hard for you.
The storyteller closed the book
gently.
*Remember, a subject and its verb
must always agree in number.
Action Verb: A word that tells what
the subject of a sentence does.
Ex: Joel enjoys his bath.
The Verb Be: Forms of the verb be
link the subject to a word or words in
the predicate.
Ex: Julia is strong.
Singular: I am, you are, he is, she is, it
is
Plural: we are, you are, they are
Main Verbs and Helping Verbs
A main verb is the most important
verb in the predicate. A helping verb
can work with the main verb to tell
about the action.
Ex: They are teaching Kimi Japanese
ways. (are is the helping verb
teaching is the main verb)
Ex: beautiful, glossy, unpredictable,
nervous, lovely, rough, star-like,
green, seven, several
Sentence Types
Simple Sentence
One independent thought or idea.
Compound Sentence
2 independent sentences joined by a
semi-colon or a comma AND
coordinate conjunction
Complex Sentence
One independent clause and one
dependent clause. The subordinate
conjunction always begins the
dependent clause.
Past, Present, and Future Tense
4 Kinds of Sentences
Past-Tense Verbs: shows that an
action happened earlier. (voted,
helped, played)
Declarative-Makes a statement
Ex: The musical begins at 9:00.
Present-Tense Verbs: show action
that is happening now. (finds, asks,
plays)
Future –Tense Verbs: shows that an
action will happen later. (will vote,
will play, will ask)
Sentences
Interrogative-Asks a question
Ex: Does the musical begin at 9:00?
Imperative-Gives a command
Ex: Start the musical at 9:00.
Exclamatory-Shows
EXPRESSION!
Ex: Wow! That was the best
musical!
Articles
A sentence is a group of words that
tells a complete thought. One part of a
The words a, an, and the are
sentence tells who or what the
articles.
sentence is about. This is the subject.
Articles are a special group of
The other part of the sentence tells
adjectives. Use a before singular
what the subject is or does. This part
nouns and adjectives that begin with
is called the predicate.
a consonant sound.
Simple Sentence a sentence with one
Ex: A farmer, An orchard, The town
complete thought.
Compound Sentences are two or
more simple sentences combined to
make a complete thought.
Subject/Predicate
Subject: Tells Who/What the
sentence is about - (Contains the
main noun)
Predicate: Tells what happened
(Contains the Verb)
*95% of the time, the predicate will
begin with the verb!
Ex: Tom studied diligently for his
test.
Complete Subject/Complete
Predicate
The complete subject of a sentence
includes the simple subject and all
the other words in the subject that
describes it.
Ex: My friend Jared loves music.
The complete predicate of a
sentence is all the words that tell
what the subject of the sentence is
or does.
Ex: A building has many parts.
* Don’t Forget*
Antonym
A word that means the opposite.
Ex: good, bad
Synonym
A word that means the same.
Ex: good, excellent
Homograph
Two words that are spelled the
same but have different meanings.
Ex: Bat(baseball bat, bat-animal)
Homophones
Homophones are words that sound
the same, but have different
meanings. Usually they are spelled
differently, but they can also be
spelled the same. An easy way to
remember this is to remember that
you listen and speak when you are
on a “phone”.
Combining Sentences
Poetry
Compound Subjects
Sentences with compound subjects
have two or more subjects that share
the same predicate. The words and
and or are usually used to join the
subjects. Use commas to separate two
or more subjects.
Literature written in verse.
Ex: A banjo has strings.
A cello has strings.
A banjo and a cello have strings.
Poem: A written composition, often
using rhythm, rhyme, metaphor, and
other artistic techniques to express
an idea, feelings, or a story.
Poet: a person who writes poems.
Main Idea/Details
Main Idea: The most important idea
or thought of a story or paragraph.
Common Prefixes/Suffixes
Common Prefixes
Dis-: the opposite of, not (disagree)
In-: not, into (incorrect)
Mis-: badly, wrong, not (misprint,
misjudge)
Non-: the opposite of, not (nonsense,
nonrefundable)
Pre-: in front of, before (preheat)
Un-: the opposite of, not (unlikely,
unheard)
Supporting Details: Facts that
support the main idea of a topic or
text
Common Suffixes
-able: able to be or to become
something (loveable)
-ful: having a lot of (beautiful)
-less: without something (odorless)
-ly: in such a manner, like or suited to,
occurring every so often (quickly,
weekly)
-ness: the state of being something
(goodness)
-ous: full of or having something
(adventurous, famous)
Conclusion or Resolution (how the
story ends)- The main conflict is
resolved or the story simply ends.
Parts of a Book
Table of Contents: a list of the titles
with the page numbers, located near
the front of the book.
Heading: title of a section in a
nonfiction book
Glossary: Dictionary of terms used in
the book, usually located in the back
of the book
Index: alphabetical list of topics and
page numbers in the back of the book.
Plot
The plot is sequence of events in a
story where each event causes the
next event to happen.
Climax-“Turning Point” or highest
interest point of a story
Theme
What the story is about in one word.
*To find the theme of a story, ask
yourself, “In one word, what
important part of life is this story
about?”
Six common themes in Children’s
Literature: Growing up, courage,
family/friendship, perseverance,
acceptance, and compassion!
Context Clues
Types of Fiction (Genres)
Literary Terms
The different ways authors help
readers figure out unfamiliar words
(The clues are usually found around
the word.)
1.A definition
2.An explanation
3.An example
4.A synonym (word that means the same)
5.An antonym (word that means the opposite)
*Realistic Fiction: stories with
situations that can happen in real life
*Historical Fiction: stories that take
place during past historical times
(world wars, the titanic)
*Mystery :stories involving suspense,
danger, and intrigue
*Adventure: relatively realistic,
character have many exciting
experiences
*Fantasy: imaginative stories,
characters and settings are different
from real world, often dealing with
magic, battles of good and evil
*Science Fiction: a type of fantasy,
stories generally set in a future time or
world in which scientific advances
have changed society in important
ways
*Folktales: traditional stories that real
the values and beliefs of a culture
*Myth: a traditional story, usually of
unknown authorship, that answers
basic questions about the world.
Myths attempt to explain such things
as human nature, the origin of the
world, mysteries of nature, and social
customs.
*Fable: a brief tale that teaches a
lesson about human nature. Many
fables feature animals.
*Legend: a story handed down from
the past about a specific personusually someone of heroic
achievement
*Poetry: Literature written in verse.
Theme: Life lesson learned; The
main idea of a story.
Main Idea: the central focus
Setting: Where and when the story
occurs.
Characters: the people in the story
Summarize: A short version of
something with main points
Chronological Order
(Sequencing): When a story is told
in the order that the events actually
happened. (First, next, finally)
Compare and Contrast: Shows
how two or more things (subjects)
are alike and different.
Cause and Effect: describes an
event or condition that causes other
things to happen.
A fact states something that
happens, has happened or is certain
to be true, or is real or exists.
An opinion states something
believed to have occurred, believed
to exist, or believed to be true.
Narrator: a person who tells the
story or events.
Moral: having to do with what is
right and what is wrong in how a
person acts.
Dialogue: a conversation between
characters.
I had a dismal attitude because I
failed my test, but my best friend
was very pleased about her A.
(Context Clue=Antonym) Dismalbad
Author’s Purpose (P. I. E.)
The author’s intent or reason for
producing a piece of writing.
Persuade: to use convincing
strategies or facts to get someone to
agree or see that your view is worth
considering.
(editorials, advertisements, letters)
Inform: to give information or
news
(Newspaper, Informational texts)
Entertain: to humor or to
enlighten.
(books, comics)
Informational Genre
Common Text Features
Title: the name, or heading of the
article
Headings: Same as titles
Subheadings: identifies the main
idea of the section of text that
follows
Topic Sentences: Tells what the
entire paragraph is discussing.
Words in italics or boldface type
Side bars: brief text written on the
outside of the actual text.
Captions: brief text that provides
information about the subject of
photograph or an illustration
Headline: a short title
Graphic Features
Bar graphs: compare amounts of
similar kinds of information
Diagrams: show how things work.
Timelines: shows you what
happened and when
Reference Resources
When searching for information, you can use the following sources:
Almanac – gives facts about populations, current events, ancient history,
famous people, sports, elections, and many other things. New editions come
out every year.
Atlas – a book of maps
Dictionary – find the definition of a word.
Encyclopedia – find detailed information about a topic
Glossary – a mini-dictionary at the end of a book
Newspaper/Magazine – has news on things that are happening right now
Table of Contents – a list of chapters or topics found near the beginning of
the book.
Thesaurus – find synonyms & antonyms; make better word choices
Index – a list of topics & page numbers found at the end of a book
Internet – quickly find anything & everything!
Phonebook – find a person’s or business’ address & phone number.
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