3rd grade abstract and concrete nouns worksheets
Third graders sort nouns by the five-senses test: perceivable (bridge, whistle, icicle) versus idea-and-feeling (hope, honesty, luck), meeting L.3.1.c head-on.
Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core L.3.1.c.
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Need one more? These are the skills next door at this grade.
The kind of words you'll sort
Write each word from the bank in the correct column.
joycouragepuddleblanketwisdomladdershovelhonesty
Columns: concrete (see or touch it) and abstract (an idea or feeling). "puddle" belongs under concrete (see or touch it); "wisdom" belongs under abstract (an idea or feeling).
Every print pulls a new set of words at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different mix.
What's on a 3rd grade sheet
3rd grade sheets draw from 36 words, 14 to a page. 3rd to 5th grade print from the same 36 words. The teaching notes below are written for this grade.
Some of the words:
violinbackpackfeatheranchoricicleluckfreedompatiencehopepride
- Sorting. Write each word from the bank in the correct column. 14 words per page.
Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.
How to teach this
Run the five-senses checklist aloud for each word: can you see it, hear it, touch it, smell it, taste it? One yes means concrete. All noes means abstract. The checklist makes every sort defensible.
Watch for: Concrete does not mean solid: thunder, fog, and a smell are concrete because a sense can catch them. The test is perceivable, not touchable. Abstract nouns are still fully nouns: they take articles and verbs like any other (the courage, her patience grew). Being invisible does not demote them.
Common questions about 3rd grade abstract and concrete nouns
- What is an abstract noun?
- A noun no sense can catch: courage, luck, kindness, hope. It names an idea or feeling instead of an object, and the five-senses test identifies it every time.
- Is thunder abstract? You can't touch it.
- Concrete: hearing counts. The test is any sense, not just touch, which is the single most common misunderstanding this sort clears up.
Related worksheets
- 4th grade abstract and concrete nouns A step harder, same skill
- 3rd grade action verbs Same grade, nearby skill
- 3rd grade adjective or adverb? Same grade, nearby skill
- 3rd grade adverbs of how, when, and where Same grade, nearby skill
- 3rd grade articles (a, an, the) Same grade, nearby skill
- Abstract and concrete nouns, all grades The full progression
- All 3rd grade English worksheets Every skill at this level
- All 3rd grade worksheets Everything at this level
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Aligned to Common Core L.3.1.c. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated August 2026.
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