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Reading a Grade 3 Fact Text is a free printable Grade 3 English worksheet on reading a whole information text and answering across it, aligned to Common Core standard RI.3.10. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 19 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Reading a Grade 3 Fact Text

RI.3.10

NameDate

Read the text, then answer the questions.

1.Read the text, then answer the questions.

Why Swallows Leave

Swallows do not leave Britain because of the cold. They leave because of the insects. A swallow eats flying insects, and it catches them in the air. In October the insects disappear, and a bird that eats nothing else has to follow the food. So swallows fly to southern Africa: about six thousand miles, taking roughly six weeks. They travel by day and feed as they go. They lose about a third of their body weight on the way. Many do not arrive. The following spring they return, and a swallow will often nest in the very barn it hatched in.

  1. 1. How far do swallows fly?
  2. 2. What is the main idea of this text, and which details support it?
  3. 3. How long does the journey take?
  4. 4. What is the author's purpose, and how do you know?
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.

Morse Code

Morse code turns every letter into a pattern of short and long signals: dots and dashes. The commonest letters were given the shortest patterns. E is one dot. T is one dash. Q, which is rare, is dash-dash-dot-dash. Because of that choice, an average message is much shorter than it would be otherwise. A message can be sent as sound, as light, or as taps on a pipe. That is why it survived so long: it needs almost no equipment. Timing carries the meaning. A dash is three times as long as a dot. The gap between letters is three dots long, and between words, seven. SOS was chosen because it is easy to recognise: three dots, three dashes, three dots.

  1. 1. The author says Morse survived a long time. What reason is given?
  2. 2. How long is a dash compared with a dot?
  3. 3. What is the Morse pattern for SOS?
  4. 4. What is the author's purpose, and how do you know?

LessonPrint · RI.3.10 · Set 19 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Reading a Grade 3 Fact Text

Set 19. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. About six thousand miles. 2. Swallows migrate to follow their food — supported by their diet, the October insect drop and the journey south. 3. Roughly six weeks. 4. To correct the idea that swallows leave because of the cold, and explain that the insects are the real cause.
  2. 2.1. It needs almost no equipment — it can be sent as sound, light or taps. 2. Three times as long. 3. Three dots, three dashes, three dots. 4. To explain how Morse works and why it was so useful — the whole text gives reasons.

More practice for RI.3.10

Read and understand harder Grade 2-3 information texts on your own.

Teaching this next? Reading Grade 3 Informational Texts is the 40-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 3 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RI.3.10 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.