What pairs show up in the passages?

Pairs a child can picture: frogs and toads, two very different grandmothers, bats and the birds they fly beside. Real comparisons, not word lists.

What do the questions ask?

Three jobs: name a way the pair is alike, name a way it differs, and match a fact to the subject it belongs to. The key states the passage's answer for each.

3rd grade compare and contrast

3rd grade compare and contrast worksheets

Compare and contrast worksheets for third grade pair two things worth holding side by side: frogs and toads, two grandmothers, bats and birds. Questions ask how the pair is alike, how it differs, and which one a fact belongs to. Clue words like both, while, and unlike do some of the pointing.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core RL.3.9.

Each click picks one of the 13 passages written for this grade. Every sheet comes with its answer key. You don't need to sign up.

The kind of passages you'll get

Read the passage. Then circle the letter of the best answer for each question.

The Two Goalies

The Hawks have two goalies, and the team can never decide which one they would rather have in the net. Salma is loud. She directs her defenders like a traffic officer, calling names, pointing, clapping her gloves. She plays far out of the goal, daring…

How are Salma and Owen alike? both practice extra and tape the left wrist first · both play far out of the goal, daring shooters to chip · both shout at defenders · both dislike Coach Dee
Answer: both practice extra and tape the left wrist first
How does Salma play differently from Owen? she comes far out of the goal while he stays near his line · she is silent while he shouts, and she never leaves the posts · she plays only second halves while he plays only first halves · she never leaves the posts

Each print picks one of the 13 passages written for this grade, and its questions come with it. With 13 to pick from, a second print can land on one you've used, so check the title before you hand it out.

What's on a 3rd grade sheet

3rd grade sheets draw from 13 passages, 253 to 282 words long. None of these passages are on 2nd grade sheets. On 2nd grade sheets they run 129 to 155 words.

Some of the titles: Frog or Toad?, Two Grandmothers, Alligator or Crocodile?, The Sun and the Moon, Moth or Butterfly?, The Planner and the Explorer.

Reading passage. Read the passage. Then circle the letter of the best answer for each question. One passage per sheet, with its own question set.

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

Two columns on scrap paper beat any lecture: label them with the two subjects and sort facts as you read together. The alike facts go in the middle. When a question asks how the pair is alike, the middle of the page already holds the answer.

Watch for: Kids latch onto differences and skip what the two things share. The alike questions are usually the ones that need a second look at the passage. A fact about only ONE of the two things answers neither kind of question. If the passage says it about just the frog, it is not a both answer, no matter how true it is.

Common questions about 3rd grade compare and contrast

What pairs show up in the passages?: Pairs a child can picture: frogs and toads, two very different grandmothers, bats and the birds they fly beside. Real comparisons, not word lists.
What do the questions ask?: Three jobs: name a way the pair is alike, name a way it differs, and match a fact to the subject it belongs to. The key states the passage's answer for each.

Related worksheets

Ready to print one?

Want a different passage? Print again. Each print picks one of the 13.

Aligned to Common Core RL.3.9. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated October 2026.

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