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Take Brief Notes is a free printable Grade 3 English worksheet on recording facts from a source without copying it out, aligned to Common Core standard W.3.8. 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 21 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.

Take Brief Notes

W.3.8

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 is this text organised?
  2. 2. How much weight do they lose?
  3. 3. The author opens by saying it is not the cold. What reason is given instead?
  4. 4. How long does the journey take?
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. How is this text organised?
  2. 2. What is the Morse pattern for SOS?
  3. 3. How long is a dash compared with a dot?
  4. 4. The author says Morse survived a long time. What reason is given?

LessonPrint · W.3.8 · Set 21 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Take Brief Notes

Set 21. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Cause first, then the journey, then the return — a cause-and-effect sequence. 2. About a third of their body weight. 3. The insects the swallow eats disappear in October. 4. Roughly six weeks.
  2. 2.1. By topic — what the code is, why it is efficient, how it is sent, and how timing works. 2. Three dots, three dashes, three dots. 3. Three times as long. 4. It needs almost no equipment — it can be sent as sound, light or taps.

More practice for W.3.8

Take brief notes from sources and sort them into given categories.

Teaching this next? Taking Notes and Sorting Evidence is the 40-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 3 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to W.3.8 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.