Third Grade Milestones: Is Your Child on Track?

Intellectual Development

In third grade, your child starts to master basic academic skills and feels more confident in his cognitive abilities. For example, as the school year progresses, he learns to mentally juggle and make sense of multiple variables in learning. Your child may also:

• Want to know the “why” and “how” behind facts.
• Be full of ideas.
• Overestimate his ability and expect too much of himself.
• Work quickly and with a short attention span. He’s industrious but impatient.
• Become a much more fluent reader.
• Learn different strategies for reading works of fiction and nonfiction.
• Be at a much higher or lower reading level than his classmates; this range is normal for third graders. Learn how to support your child’s reading skills.
• Know the correct spelling of many words.
• Understand (and use) the stages of the writing process. He’ll get better at editing and revising his writing. Try these tips to encourage your child’s writing.

Physical Development

As your third grader grows, he may:

• Continue to be busy and active.
• Suffer frequent bumps, bruises, trips, and falls. (He’ll become more coordinated as the school year progresses.)
• Have a hearty appetite and “eat like there’s no tomorrow.”
• Be open to trying new and different foods.
• Urinate often when anxious.
• Clown around (makes faces, etc.).

Social and Emotional Development

By ages 8 and 9, your child is quite a social butterfly! You may find that he:

• Makes friends easily and develops more give-and-take in relationships.
• Enjoys seeing friends at school and doesn’t like being absent.
• Cooperates and works well in a group of peers.
• Is less interested in family dinner table conversation; wants to “eat and run.”
• Has fewer fears, and the fears he has are reasonable.
• Can be very sensitive. He may criticize himself and others harshly.
• Becomes more competitive.
• Exaggerates and is overly dramatic.
• Pushes back when adults give directions, but eventually complies.
• Likes immediate rewards for good behavior.
• Has bigger mood swings – from even-tempered to moody, friendly to bossy, etc.

Partner With the Professionals to Track Your Child’s Progress

You know your child better than anyone does, so you can offer key insights and information when meeting with his teachers, pediatrician, and any other professionals involved his education and care. Are you worried that a problem may be serious? Don’t wait until your next parent-teacher conference or routine doctor appointment to voice your concern. Try to keep the communication flowing while your child is growing!

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Second and Third Graders: Reading Milestones 

Second and Third Graders: Talking and Reading to Learn