Free 3rd Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets With Answer Key

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Reading gets a little more challenging in third grade. Kids are no longer only looking for an answer that is written clearly in the passage. They start working on main idea, inference, character traits, text evidence, vocabulary, sequencing, compare and contrast, and understanding information from diagrams.

That is exactly what I wanted these 3rd grade reading comprehension worksheets to practice, without turning reading time into something kids dread.

I created 10 printable reading passages with comprehension questions, followed by two answer key pages. The set includes fiction, nonfiction and poetry, with everything from a missing library book and a mysterious attic discovery to hummingbirds, animal adaptations, changing leaves, bridges and the water cycle.

If you have a younger child too, you may also like my 2nd grade reading comprehension worksheets for a slightly gentler set of passages.

Free 3rd grade reading comprehension worksheets with fiction, nonfiction, and poetry passages.

Quick Look

Grade: 3rd grade
Includes: 10 reading comprehension worksheets plus answer keys
Text types: fiction, nonfiction and poetry
Skills: main idea, inference, text evidence, character traits, vocabulary, sequencing, compare and contrast, personification and reading diagrams
Topics: stories, animals, nature, science and STEM
Best for: classroom practice, homeschool, homework, reading centers or extra practice at home
Format: printable reading comprehension passages with questions

Reading Comprehension Practice My Kids Actually Wanted to Finish

I made these as a mom first.

One thing I have learned from creating worksheets for my own kids is that what looks good on my computer is not always what works when a child is sitting at the table with a pencil.

So my kids became my critics.

What Third Graders Practice

Each worksheet has five comprehension activities, but they are intentionally not all the same.

In the fiction passages, kids work on things like character motivation, problem and solution, inference, sequencing and text evidence. One story asks children to infer something about a character and then find a detail in the passage that supports their thinking.

The nonfiction passages include science and STEM topics such as hummingbird flight, why leaves change color, animal adaptations, bridge design and the water cycle. Children practice finding the main idea, understanding vocabulary in context, connecting cause and effect, comparing information and using a labeled diagram together with the text.

Preview of 3rd grade nonfiction reading comprehension worksheets about leaves, animals, and bridges.

I also included a poetry worksheet so children can practice imagery, mood and personification instead of reading only traditional prose passages.

For another print-and-go learning resource, my 1st grade place value worksheets can be useful if you are building a small folder of practice pages for different ages.

How to Use These 3rd Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

You definitely don’t need to hand your child the entire packet at once.

I prefer one passage at a time. Have your child read it first, answer the questions and then go back into the text when they need evidence. That habit of returning to the passage is one of the reading skills I really wanted this set to encourage.

Teachers can use the worksheets for morning work, reading centers, independent practice, homework or small groups. Parents can simply print a page whenever their child needs a little extra reading practice.

And yes, the answer key is included, because I know the last thing any parent or teacher needs is another worksheet they have to solve themselves.

If printed pages tend to spread everywhere, a simple school-supply storage setup can help keep the passages, pencils and answer key together.

Preview of a 3rd grade poetry reading comprehension worksheet with questions and answer space.

Download the Free 3rd Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

If your third grader is ready to move beyond basic recall questions and start really thinking about what they read, download the printable 3rd grade reading comprehension worksheets below.

Free printable pack