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Reading Passages for 3rd Graders

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Science and social studies passages, paired texts on the same topic, and original folktales, each with questions and an answer key.

Download the reading passages worksheets

Science reading passages

Nonfiction passages on 3rd grade science: magnets, weather and climate, how animals survive winter, and the life cycle of a frog.

Social studies reading passages

Needs, wants, and choices, who pays for a town park, the three branches of government, and how to read a map.

Paired passages

Two short texts on one topic, with questions that compare their most important points: traits, seeds on the move, and school long ago and today.

Folktales and "why" stories

Original tales that explain something in nature and teach a lesson.

Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.

About these reading passages worksheets

Third graders read to learn in every subject. These reading passages for 3rd graders connect reading to what children study in science and social studies: magnets, weather and climate, animal life cycles, the three branches of government, and how a town pays for a park.

Paired passages put two short texts on the same topic side by side, so children practice comparing the most important points of two texts, a key 3rd grade skill. Original folktales and "why" stories explain something in nature and teach a lesson.

Every passage is original, has numbered paragraphs, and comes with six to eight questions and an answer key.

Standards

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.2Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.3Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.1Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.2Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.3Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.4Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.5Use text features and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate information relevant to a given topic efficiently.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.8Describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison, cause/effect, first/second/third in a sequence).
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.9Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.

How to use them

  1. Pick a passage that matches what your class is studying in science or social studies.
  2. Read the headings and fact boxes first, so your child knows what the text is about.
  3. For paired passages, read Text 1, talk about its main point, then read Text 2 and ask what is the same and what is new.
  4. Use the written questions to practice answering with details from the text.

Teaching tips

  • Headings, bold words, and fact boxes are there to help. Point them out before reading.
  • When a question asks about both texts, have your child mark the part of each text that answers it.
  • After a folktale, ask: what does the story explain, and what lesson does it teach?
  • Reread a passage on another day. Rereading builds fluency and confidence.

Questions teachers and parents ask

What is the difference between these passages and the reading comprehension passages?

These passages are grouped by subject (science, social studies, paired texts, and folktales). The reading comprehension page has leveled stories, nonfiction, and poems for general reading practice.

Are the facts checked?

Yes. The nonfiction passages use well-established facts suited to third grade science and social studies.

What are paired passages?

Two short texts on the same topic. Children compare the most important points and details in the two texts.

Do the worksheets have answer keys?

Yes. Every page with right answers has an answer key on page 2. Written answers show an example.