Free reading comprehension worksheets

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3rd grade reading comprehension passage with questions and an answer key · 2 pages + answer key

NameDateGrade 3 readingThe Lighthouse CatRead the story. Then answer the questions. Fill in the bubble or write your answer.Fiction · 3rd grade · 212 wordsOn a rocky island off the coast lived an old lighthouse keeper named Mr. Bell and1a gray cat named Biscuit. Every evening, Mr. Bell climbed the 112 steps to thetop of the tower and lit the great lamp. Its beam swept across the dark water,warning ships away from the rocks.One stormy night, Mr. Bell slipped on the wet stairs and hurt his ankle. He could2not climb. The lamp stayed dark, and somewhere out in the storm, a fishing boatwas heading home.Biscuit paced back and forth, meowing. Then she darted up the stairs. Mr. Bell3heard a thump. Biscuit had knocked the rope of the fog bell loose from its hook,and the bell began to swing in the wind. CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.Out on the water, Captain Rosa heard the bell. She knew that sound meant rocks4were close. She turned her boat away and followed the clanging safely into theharbor.The next morning, Captain Rosa rowed out to the island with bandages for Mr.5Bell and a fresh fish for Biscuit. “That cat saved my boat,” she said.Mr. Bell scratched Biscuit behind the ears. “She’s always been a good helper,” he6said. “But I think it’s time I fixed that stair railing.”Questions1.Why couldn’t Mr. Bell light the lamp?AHe hurt his ankle on the stairs.BHe was asleep.CHe had no matches.DThe lamp was broken.edulist.com/worksheets/reading-comprehensionFree printables, plus learning programs scholarships can pay for · Page 1 of 2

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These reading comprehension worksheets pair an original passage with six questions that check four skills: recalling details, making inferences, working out a word's meaning from context, and finding the main idea. This one opens on a 3rd grade passage. Change the grade, genre or season above, and the page rebuilds instantly.

Good comprehension practice looks like a real test without the stress: a passage worth reading, questions that send kids back to the text, and a mix of quick multiple choice with a couple of written answers. Start one grade below where your child reads comfortably, then move up when they score five or six out of six. For grade-level sets, see kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade and 5th grade.

Tips for using it

  • Have your child read the questions first, then the passage. Knowing what to look for builds focus.
  • For written answers, teach "answer, then prove it" with a detail from the text.
  • If inference questions are hard, ask "How do you know?" out loud before writing.

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Questions

What are the four types of comprehension questions?

Recall (literal) questions ask about details stated in the text. Inference questions ask kids to combine clues with what they know. Vocabulary questions ask what a word means in context, and main idea questions ask what the whole passage is mostly about.

How do I know which grade level to choose?

Choose the level where your child can read the passage aloud with few mistakes and answer most questions. If they stumble on more than about one word in twenty, step down a grade.

Is there an answer key?

Yes. Turn on Answer key to add matching pages with the correct bubbles filled in and sample answers for written questions.

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