3rd grade reading comprehension worksheets
Passages with questions on main idea, inference, and more. Every reading comprehension skill we teach at 3rd grade, one to a page. Each prints as a PDF with its answer key, and no two prints are the same.
Reading comprehension skills for 3rd grade
- Author's purpose Reading passage · answer key Every writer has a reason for writing. The three big reasons are easy to remember as PIE: to Persuade (change your mind), to Inform (teach you facts), or to Entertain (tell you a fun story). To find the purpose, ask what the writer wants you to do after reading.
- Fact vs opinion Choose the word · answer key A fact can be checked and proven: a spider has eight legs. An opinion tells what someone thinks or feels: spiders are creepy. Ask the test question: could we look this up and settle it?
- Fiction reading comprehension Reading passage · answer key The answers hide in the story. Read it once for fun, then go back and point to the exact sentence that proves each answer.
- Main idea and details Reading passage · answer key The main idea is what the whole passage is about, in one sentence. The details are the smaller facts that back it up.
- Making inferences Reading passage · answer key An inference is a smart guess the writer never says out loud. You mix a clue from the text with what you already know: if a character shivers and rubs her hands, you can infer she is cold.
- Nonfiction reading comprehension Reading passage · answer key Nonfiction is true information. Read to find out what the passage teaches, and be ready to point to the fact that answers each question.
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