FAST ELA Grade 3 study plan
FAST ELA Grade 3 · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Reading: Informational Text & Vocabulary and Figurative Language
Identify the main idea and supporting details in three short informational passages
Distinguish fact from opinion in a set of statements
Define academic vocabulary words such as compare, contrast, and describe using context clues
Annotate passages by underlining the topic sentence of each paragraph
Your checkpoint
A completed graphic organizer showing main idea and two supporting details for three informational passages, plus a 10-word academic vocabulary log
Reading: Informational Text & Reading Across Texts and Text Structure
Explain how headings, captions, and bold words signal key information
Sequence events or steps from an informational text using a timeline or flow chart
Match text structures (description, sequence, cause and effect) to sample paragraphs
Summarize an informational passage in three sentences or fewer
Your checkpoint
A one-page reference sheet labeling four text structures with an original example sentence for each
Reading: Informational Text & Reading: Literary Text
Compare how two informational texts on the same topic present information
Describe characters' traits and motivations using evidence from a literary passage
Identify the central message or lesson of a short story
Retell a story's beginning, middle, and end in order
Your checkpoint
A written comparison paragraph explaining one similarity and one difference between two texts on the same topic
Reading: Literary Text & Vocabulary and Figurative Language
Explain how a character's actions drive the plot forward
Interpret figurative language including similes and simple metaphors
Distinguish literal from nonliteral meanings of phrases in context
Cite a line of dialogue that reveals a character's feelings
Your checkpoint
A story map plus a short paragraph interpreting two figurative phrases with their literal meanings
Foundational Skills: Phonics, Word Analysis, and Fluency & Vocabulary and Figurative Language
Decode multisyllable words by identifying common prefixes and suffixes
Apply grade-level phonics patterns to read unfamiliar words aloud accurately
Use reference tools such as a glossary to confirm word meanings
Read a grade-level passage aloud with accuracy and appropriate pacing
Your checkpoint
A recorded or timed oral reading of a 100-word passage with a self-scored accuracy count and a prefix/suffix word sort
Reading Across Texts and Text Structure & Reading: Informational Text
Compare and contrast two texts with different structures on a related topic
Evaluate which details are most important for summarizing each text
Identify the author's purpose in three short passages
Explain how a diagram or text feature adds to the information in words
Your checkpoint
A side-by-side chart comparing two texts' structures, main ideas, and key details with a one-sentence author's purpose statement for each
Reading: Literary Text & Reading Across Texts and Text Structure
Trace how a conflict is introduced and resolved across a literary text
Connect ideas across two literary passages by theme or character change
Distinguish first-person from third-person narration
Support an inference about a character with two pieces of textual evidence
Your checkpoint
A written response using two quoted details to support an inference about a character's change from beginning to end
Reading: Informational Text & Vocabulary and Figurative Language & Foundational Skills: Phonics, Word Analysis, and Fluency
Answer mixed-domain practice questions under timed conditions
Review missed items and classify each error by domain
Re-read and correct weak areas in vocabulary and word analysis
Summarize test-taking strategies for main idea, vocabulary in context, and decoding
Your checkpoint
A completed error analysis log for a 20-question mixed practice set, with a corrected explanation for every missed item
Milestones
Week 2: Score at least 80% on a 10-question informational text and text structure self-check
Week 4: Write a complete story summary and correctly interpret at least 4 of 5 figurative language items
Week 6: Complete the two-text comparison chart with accurate main ideas and structures for both passages
Week 8: Score at least 80% on the timed mixed practice set and show a corrected explanation for every missed item