3rd Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Fifteen original fiction, nonfiction and biography passages with written-response questions. · RL.3 / RI.3
All 22 worksheets
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RL.3.3The Lemonade Stand
Character traits
RI.3.2Busy Honeybees
Main idea
RL.3.1The Lost Library Book
Asking and answering questions
RI.3.4Volcanoes: Mountains of Fire
Vocabulary in context
RL.3.3Maya’s Science Fair
Sequence of events
RI.3.8The Water Cycle
Cause and effect
RI.3.3Amelia Earhart, Sky Pioneer
Time order
RL.3.2The Tortoise Team
Central message
RI.3.7The Amazing Monarch Journey
Key details
RL.3.6A Snow Day Surprise
Point of view
RI.3.5Octopuses: Ocean Escape Artists
Text features
RL.3.5A Letter from Grandma
Parts of a letter
RI.3.3The Pyramids of Egypt
Explaining a process
RL.3.3The Big Game
Characters’ feelings
RI.3.6Why We Recycle
Author’s purpose
RL.3.3The Robot Helper
Character motivation
RI.3.8How Bridges Stay Up
Text structure
RI.3.3George Washington Carver, Plant Scientist
Sequence of events
RL.3.2The Fox and the Crow
Central message
RI.3.2Sea Turtles on the Move
Main idea and details
RI.3.8Why Leaves Change Color
Cause and effect
RL.3.3The Class Garden
Character actions
About these 3rd grade reading comprehension worksheets
These 3rd grade reading comprehension worksheets use fifteen original passages — realistic stories, a fable, a friendly letter, a biography of Amelia Earhart and nonfiction about honeybees, volcanoes, the water cycle, monarch butterflies, octopuses and the pyramids — each followed by four questions that need a written answer.
The questions follow the Common Core 3rd grade reading standards: asking and answering questions with evidence (RL.3.1, RI.3.1), central message (RL.3.2), character traits (RL.3.3), vocabulary in context (RI.3.4), text features (RI.3.5) and author’s purpose (RI.3.6).
What these 22 worksheets cover
- The Lemonade Stand (RL.3.3)
- Busy Honeybees (RI.3.2)
- The Lost Library Book (RL.3.1)
- Volcanoes: Mountains of Fire (RI.3.4)
- Maya’s Science Fair (RL.3.3)
- The Water Cycle (RI.3.8)
- Amelia Earhart, Sky Pioneer (RI.3.3)
- The Tortoise Team (RL.3.2)
- The Amazing Monarch Journey (RI.3.7)
- A Snow Day Surprise (RL.3.6)
- Octopuses: Ocean Escape Artists (RI.3.5)
- A Letter from Grandma (RL.3.5)
- The Pyramids of Egypt (RI.3.3)
- The Big Game (RL.3.3)
- Why We Recycle (RI.3.6)
- The Robot Helper (RL.3.3)
- How Bridges Stay Up (RI.3.8)
- George Washington Carver, Plant Scientist (RI.3.3)
- The Fox and the Crow (RL.3.2)
- Sea Turtles on the Move (RI.3.2)
- Why Leaves Change Color
- The Class Garden
All worksheet sets
How to get the most out of them
- 1
Ask your child to underline the sentence that proves each answer before writing it. Finding evidence is the skill 3rd grade tests most.
- 2
Read the questions first on nonfiction passages. Knowing what to look for turns reading into a search, which keeps attention on the text.
- 3
Encourage complete sentences that restate the question: “Nora opened a lemonade stand because…”
3rd Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets — questions parents ask
- What reading level are these passages?
- They are written for a typical 3rd grade reader, around 150 to 200 words each, with a few challenge words explained by the text itself so a child can work them out from context.
- How do I help a child who reads well but answers poorly?
- Have them point to the words in the passage that answer each question before writing. Most wrong answers come from memory of the story rather than from the text.
