How do I use these in a third grade science unit?

Use the passage on the unit's topic as a warm-up or a review. Friction, magnets, weather tools, fossils and the Moon's phases all have their own passage. The questions check the reading, and the facts give the class a common starting point for discussion.

Why do some wrong answers sound true?

Because they are common beliefs the passage corrects, or true details that do not answer the question. Ask your child to point to the sentence that proves their choice; a wrong answer usually has no sentence behind it.

3rd grade science reading comprehension

3rd grade science reading comprehension worksheets

Third grade science reading comprehension worksheets: a one-page passage on friction, magnets, fossils, the Moon's phases or another third grade topic, then five questions. Your child works out science words from context and says what the passage is mostly about. Answer key included.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core RI.3.1, RI.3.10.

Each click picks one of the 14 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 Ends of a Magnet

A bar magnet has two ends called poles. One is the north pole, and the other is the south pole. A magnet pulls hardest at its poles. Hold two magnets close, and something odd happens. A north pole and a south pole pull toward each…

Where does a magnet pull hardest? at its poles · in its middle · on its flat sides · evenly all over
Answer: at its poles
What happens when two north poles come close? they push apart · they snap together · they spin in circles · they turn into south poles

Each print picks one of the 14 passages written for this grade, and its questions come with it. With 14 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 14 passages, 114 to 147 words long. 2nd and 3rd grade print from the same 14 passages. What changes is the standard (RI.3.1, RI.3.10 here) and the teaching notes below.

Some of the titles: A Ride for a Seed, Socks on the Floor, Counting to the Thunder, Footprints in Stone, Reading the Weather, Cups That Talk.

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

Third grade adds the mostly-about question. After the facts, ask your child to say in one sentence what the passage taught, then check that every paragraph fits under it. Science passages often correct an everyday idea (a ship floats because of the water it pushes aside, not because steel is light), so ask what surprised them. That is usually the main idea.

Watch for: Choosing the answer you already believed instead of the one the passage states. Science passages often correct an everyday idea, so check the line before you circle. Skipping a science word as too hard. The passage explains it nearby, and at least one question depends on it.

Common questions about 3rd grade science reading comprehension

How do I use these in a third grade science unit?: Use the passage on the unit's topic as a warm-up or a review. Friction, magnets, weather tools, fossils and the Moon's phases all have their own passage. The questions check the reading, and the facts give the class a common starting point for discussion.
Why do some wrong answers sound true?: Because they are common beliefs the passage corrects, or true details that do not answer the question. Ask your child to point to the sentence that proves their choice; a wrong answer usually has no sentence behind it.

Related worksheets

Ready to print one?

Want a different passage? Print again. Each print picks one of the 14.

Aligned to Common Core RI.3.1, RI.3.10. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated October 2026.

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