--- title: "3.L.V.3: Word Meaning and Reference (Georgia English Language Arts standard)" code: 3.L.V.3 cite_as: Georgia Standards of Excellence, English Language Arts, 3.L.V.3 subject: ela grades: - grade-3 language: en canonical_url: https://georgiahomeroom.org/standards/code/3.L.V.3 md_url: https://georgiahomeroom.org/standards/code/3.L.V.3.md alternate_language_url: https://georgiahomeroom.org/es/standards/code/3.L.V.3.md source_url: https://case.georgiastandards.org/ims/case/v1p0/CFDocuments/391c3abe-c1ec-4a4a-a942-c9e152b35102 source_last_changed: 2025-11-14 data_built: 2026-09-18 publisher: Georgia Homeroom, a free public-interest project of Georgia Civic Data. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Georgia Department of Education or any school district. up: https://georgiahomeroom.org/standards/ela/grade-3.md index: https://georgiahomeroom.org/standards/index.md --- # 3.L.V.3: Word Meaning and Reference Make connections between words and phrases and use reference materials to determine or clarify word meanings in a variety of settings and for a variety of purposes. - Subject: English Language Arts - Appears in: Grade 3, https://georgiahomeroom.org/standards/ela/grade-3.md ## Expectations - **3.L.V.3.a**: Use context (e.g., images and graphs) within and beyond a sentence to determine or clarify the meaning of unknown words and multiple-meaning words and phrases. (I) - **3.L.V.3.b**: Identify homophones and homographs and use the relationship between synonyms and antonyms to clarify word meanings. (I) - **3.L.V.3.c**: Distinguish shades of meaning among closely related verbs (e.g., toss, throw, hurl) and closely related adjectives (e.g., thin, slender, skinny, scrawny). (I) - **3.L.V.3.d**: Use glossaries or beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to check spelling and to determine or clarify the precise meaning of words and phrases. (I) - **3.L.V.3.e**: Use knowledge of word relationships and learned vocabulary words and phrases to make precise word choices when speaking and writing. (C) ## Georgia Milestones coverage - English Language Arts Grade 3 (EOG). Language — Interpreting Texts. Vocabulary Students engage in a wide range of written and spoken activities during which they expand and deepen their vocabularies, build word analysis skillsets (morphology), and determine or clarify the meanings of words and phrases. (about 10% of the test; 6 points; shared with other standards, so count these points once and never add them up per standard) ## What mastery looks like Georgia's Achievement Level Descriptors. The levels are cumulative: each includes the ones before it. Proficient is on grade level. - **Beginning**: Use context within a sentence to determine or clarify the meaning of unknown words. - **Developing**: Use context within a sentence to determine or clarify the meaning of multiple-meaning words or phrases. Identify synonyms or antonyms in a text. - **Proficient**: Use context beyond a sentence to determine or clarify the meaning of unknown words and/or multiple-meaning words and phrases. Use the relationship between synonyms and antonyms to clarify word meanings. Distinguish shades of meaning among closely related verbs (e.g., toss, throw, hurl) or closely related adjectives (e.g., thin, slender, skinny, scrawny). Use glossaries or dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the precise meaning of words and phrases. Use knowledge of word relationships and learned vocabulary words and phrases to make precise word choices when speaking and writing. - **Distinguished**: Use multiple pieces of context throughout a text to determine or clarify the meaning of unknown words and multiple-meaning words and phrases. ## The same standard across grades - Kindergarten, K.L.V.3: **Meaning & Purpose** Make connections between words and phrases and use reference materials to determine or clarify word meanings in a variety of settings and for a variety of purposes. https://georgiahomeroom.org/standards/code/K.L.V.3.md - Grade 1, 1.L.V.3: **Meaning & Purpose** Make connections between words and phrases and use reference materials to determine or clarify word meanings in a variety of settings and for a variety of purposes. https://georgiahomeroom.org/standards/code/1.L.V.3.md - Grade 2, 2.L.V.3: **Meaning & Purpose** Make connections between words and phrases and use reference materials to determine or clarify word meanings in a variety of settings and for a variety of purposes. https://georgiahomeroom.org/standards/code/2.L.V.3.md - **Grade 3, 3.L.V.3 (this standard)**: **Meaning & Purpose** Make connections between words and phrases and use reference materials to determine or clarify word meanings in a variety of settings and for a variety of purposes. - Grade 4, 4.L.V.3: **Meaning & Purpose** Make connections between words and phrases and use reference materials to determine or clarify word meanings in a variety of settings and for a variety of purposes. https://georgiahomeroom.org/standards/code/4.L.V.3.md - Grade 5, 5.L.V.3: **Meaning & Purpose** Make connections between words and phrases and use reference materials to determine or clarify word meanings in a variety of settings and for a variety of purposes. https://georgiahomeroom.org/standards/code/5.L.V.3.md - Grade 6, 6.L.V.3: **Meaning & Purpose** Analyze the denotative and connotative meanings of words and phrases and strategically apply those understandings when interpreting and constructing texts. https://georgiahomeroom.org/standards/code/6.L.V.3.md - Grade 7, 7.L.V.3: **Meaning & Purpose** Analyze the denotative and connotative meanings of words and phrases and strategically apply those understandings when interpreting and constructing texts. https://georgiahomeroom.org/standards/code/7.L.V.3.md - Grade 8, 8.L.V.3: **Meaning & Purpose** Analyze the denotative and connotative meanings of words and phrases and strategically apply those understandings when interpreting and constructing texts. https://georgiahomeroom.org/standards/code/8.L.V.3.md - Grade 9, 9.L.V.3: **Meaning & Purpose** Analyze and craft nuanced words and phrases in a variety of texts and for a variety of purposes. https://georgiahomeroom.org/standards/code/9.L.V.3.md - Grade 10, 10.L.V.3: **Meaning & Purpose** Analyze and craft nuanced words and phrases in a variety of texts and for a variety of purposes. https://georgiahomeroom.org/standards/code/10.L.V.3.md - Grade 11, 11.L.V.3: **Meaning & Purpose** Analyze and craft nuanced words and phrases in a variety of texts and for a variety of purposes. https://georgiahomeroom.org/standards/code/11.L.V.3.md - Grade 12, 12.L.V.3: **Meaning & Purpose** Analyze and craft nuanced words and phrases in a variety of texts and for a variety of purposes. https://georgiahomeroom.org/standards/code/12.L.V.3.md Source: Georgia Standards of Excellence, published by the Georgia Department of Education at case.georgiastandards.org.