Reading Grade 3 Informational Texts
A 40-minute Grade 3 lesson on reading history, science and technical texts at the top of the grades 2-3 band.
Reading Grade 3 Informational Texts is a free 40-minute Grade 3 English lesson plan for Common Core standard RI.3.10 — read and understand harder Grade 2-3 information texts on your own. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the mathematics, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.
- Grade:
- Grade 3
- Length:
- 40 minutes
- Standard:
- RI.3.10
Grade 3 · Reading: Informational Text
RI.3.10
By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 2-3 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
Objective
Students will be able to read a demanding subject text independently and take notes that hold it together.
Students are successful when they can
- Reads a whole section independently.
- Notes the main point per section.
- Names what made it hard and what they did.
What you need
- A history or science text at the top of the band
- A notes sheet with a main-point line per section
- The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan
The lesson
Warm-up — preview the load
5 min- Skim the text for subject words, headings and images.
- Predict which section will be hardest.
Teach — main point per section
13 min- Read section one. Write its main point as one sentence.
- Show that a fact is not a main point — go back and fix it.
- Read section two and note where the reading slowed.
- Name what caused the slowing: subject words, long sentences, or unfamiliar content.
- Match the difficulty to a strategy: look it up, reread slowly, or use the diagram.
“Name what made it hard. Different hard things need different fixes.”
Guided practice — read and note
12 min- Students read the remaining sections, writing a main point for each.
- They mark what made each hard section hard.
- Pairs compare their main points.
Independent practice
8 min- Students complete the reading page.
- They read the passage themselves.
Close
2 min- Take one main point and one difficulty named.
What goes wrong, and why
Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.
Notes a fact instead of the main point.
Why: Facts are concrete and main points have to be built.
Fix: Ask what the section was arguing or explaining. A fact is evidence for that.
Says 'it was just hard' with no cause.
Why: Difficulty is felt as a single undifferentiated thing.
Fix: Offer three named causes. Naming one makes a strategy available.
Skips the diagrams because the text is the reading.
Why: Reading means prose.
Fix: Read one diagram before the section it belongs to. It often makes the prose easy.
If they are not there yet
- Three sections rather than five.
- Give two candidate main points per section.
If they finish early
- Combine the section main points into a summary paragraph.
- Say which section was least necessary.
- Compare the difficulty of this text with a story.
Exit ticket
Give the main point of this section, and say what made it hard.
What to look for: A main point and a named cause of difficulty. 'It was hard' means the three-causes list needs sharing.
Printable practice for RI.3.10
Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.
- Reading a Grade 3 Fact TextRead the text, then answer the questions.
Questions about Reading Grade 3 Informational Texts
How long does the Reading Grade 3 Informational Texts lesson take?
40 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 13 min, guided practice 12 min, independent practice 8 min, close 2 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.
Which standard does Reading Grade 3 Informational Texts teach?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.10 — RI.3.10, Reading: Informational Text for Grade 3: “By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 2-3 text complexity band independently and proficiently.” In plain terms, read and understand harder Grade 2-3 information texts on your own.
What do I need to teach this lesson?
A history or science text at the top of the band, a notes sheet with a main-point line per section and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.
What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?
Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: notes a fact instead of the main point; says 'it was just hard' with no cause and skips the diagrams because the text is the reading. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.
How do I know whether the lesson worked?
The exit ticket asks: “Give the main point of this section, and say what made it hard.” A main point and a named cause of difficulty. 'It was hard' means the three-causes list needs sharing. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.
Is there a worksheet to go with Reading Grade 3 Informational Texts?
Yes — 1 printable RI.3.10 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.
Is Reading Grade 3 Informational Texts free to use?
Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on 7 September 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.
Last reviewed 2026-09-07. Aligned to RI.3.10 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.