Free worksheets / Third grade reading / Reading: Nonfiction
Third grade reading: nonfiction worksheets
Nonfiction reading worksheets: short informational passages with questions about the main topic and key details.
2 sets · free worksheets to print today for every set
Reading informational text in third grade
Third graders read more nonfiction, and they learn to read it like detectives. They find the main idea and the key details that support it, describe how events, ideas or steps are connected by time, sequence or cause and effect, and learn the meaning of subject-specific words.
They also use text features and search tools such as key words, sidebars and hyperlinks to find information fast, and compare two texts on the same topic.
Skills kids practice
- Refer to the text when answering questions (RI.3.1)
- Find the main idea and explain how key details support it (RI.3.2)
- Describe events, ideas or steps using time, sequence and cause and effect (RI.3.3)
- Work out the meaning of general and subject-specific words (RI.3.4)
- Use text features and search tools to find information (RI.3.5)
- Compare the most important points in two texts on the same topic (RI.3.9)
Tips for teachers and parents
- Underline or jot the sentence in the text that supports each answer.
- Ask kids to say the main idea in one sentence, then name two details that back it up.
- Read two short articles on one topic, and talk about what is the same and what is different.
Questions about reading: nonfiction worksheets
What is the difference between the topic and the main idea?
The topic is what the text is about in a word or two. The main idea is the most important point the author makes about that topic.
What are key details?
They are facts, examples and reasons in the text that support the main idea.
Standards covered
- RI.3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
- RI.3.2 Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.