Subject Words in Context is a free printable Grade 3 English worksheet on working out a domain-specific word from the text, aligned to Common Core standard RI.3.4. 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 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
Yeast is alive. It is a fungus, and each grain of dried yeast holds millions of cells waiting for water.
Add warm water and the cells wake up. They begin to feed on the sugars in the flour.
As they feed, they give off carbon dioxide gas. The gas cannot escape, because kneading the dough has built a stretchy web of gluten that traps it. Thousands of tiny bubbles form, and the dough swells.
In the oven, two things happen. The trapped gas expands in the heat, so the loaf rises further. Then the heat kills the yeast and sets the gluten, and the bubbles are locked in place.
That is why bread has holes in it.
1. What does "expands" mean?
2. What is "gluten"?
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.
How a Canal Lock Works
A canal cannot run uphill. Where the land rises, engineers build a lock: a chamber with a gate at each end.
A boat going uphill enters the lock through the lower gate. The gate closes behind it.
Sluices in the upper gate are opened. Water flows in from the higher stretch of canal, and the boat rises with it. No pump is needed, because the water comes down by gravity.
When the water inside matches the level above, the upper gate can be opened and the boat moves on.
Going downhill, everything runs the other way: the water is let out, and the boat sinks with it.
1. What is a "sluice"?
2. What does "chamber" mean in this text?
LessonPrint · RI.3.4 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Subject Words in Context
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Expands means gets bigger — the trapped gas expands in the oven heat. 2. The stretchy web in dough, built up by kneading, that traps the gas.
2.1. An opening in a gate that can be opened to let water through. 2. The enclosed space between the two gates that the boat sits in.
Questions about Subject Words in Context
What does the Subject Words in Context worksheet cover?
It practises working out a domain-specific word from the text — 2 questions for Grade 3, all on Common Core RI.3.4: Work out what a subject-specific word means in this text. The instruction to pupils is “Read the text, then answer the questions”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which Common Core standard does Subject Words in Context practise?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.4 — RI.3.4, in the Reading: Informational Text domain for Grade 3. The published standard reads: “Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Subject Words in Context is written for Grade 3, typically ages 8-9. It is one of the sheets on RI.3.4, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Subject Words in Context come with an answer key?
Yes. All 2 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of Subject Words in Context can I print?
25 — one per pupil, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.
Is Subject Words in Context free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Subject Words in Context, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
Is there a lesson plan to teach RI.3.4?
Yes — “Academic and Domain Words” is a 40-minute Grade 3 plan for RI.3.4, timed section by section, with the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. Subject Words in Context is the practice that follows it.
More practice for RI.3.4
Work out what a subject-specific word means in this text.
Teaching this next? Academic and Domain Words is the 40-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.