Written by Lori Toney, English teacher, educational writer and mother of three school children

During the 3rd grade, reading instruction reaches a critical juncture in which students use their acquired reading skills as a tool for learning across all subject areas. In a recent article, we talked about how children strengthen their skills during the 1st grade and begin making that transition in grade 2. This becomes even more important in the 3rd grade as they are expected to begin developing text analysis skills.

At this stage, learners turn away from learning to decode words and instead focus on making meaning beyond surface-level reading skills. Some of the most essential skills they form include identifying main ideas and supporting details, making use of text structure and features, asking specific text-based questions, and comparing and contrasting texts to construct meaning rather than simple understanding.

If you’re wondering about what you can do to help boost your 3rd grader’s reading comprehension to enhance their learning, join us as we explore some of the most critical aspects to focus on to help foster those important skills.

6 Essential Reading Comprehension Skills for 3rd Graders

1. Identifying the main idea and supporting key details in a text

First up, we have what is quite possibly the most practiced and assessed skill for this grade level: identifying main ideas and key details in a text. That’s because for kids to use reading as a learning tool, they must be able to reduce what they’ve read into concise, easy-to-remember points.

3rd graders must be able to find a main idea of a paragraph, section, and the entire text, as well as identify specific phrases or sentences that convey that idea.  They must be able to find key details that point towards a larger idea. The best way to practice this is through plenty of reading, and back and forth discussion and feedback. Start with shorter texts before working up to longer stories and informational pieces.

This lesson offers a brief passage for children to read and think about. It also demonstrates how reading is used as a tool to learn in other subjects because the paragraph is science topic that teaches about landforms and volcanoes. In the second worksheet, learners practice supporting a main idea with supporting details.

2. Ask and answer text-based questions, like who, what, where, when, why, and how

As readers advance to longer texts, it becomes very important to encourage them to be curious about specific text details. At this stage, many learners tend to get off topic and question anything their mind wonders about related to the topic presented in the text.

Instead, narrow their focus on questions that won’t lead them astray. Teach kids to ask text-based questions, like who, what, where, when, why, and how, to find out all the details they can about a story or article.

To introduce this concept, read a story with students like this one about a dog and his bone.

Encourage children to answer the question at the end but follow up with this worksheet that specifically focuses on text-based questions, such as who, what, and where.

3. Understand the basics of a story, such as character traits, conflict, and plot events

Another important concept that is taught heavily in the 3rd grade is fictional plot structure and the beginnings of literary elements. Children start thinking about character traits, conflicts, and how stories progress from problem to resolution.

One essential component of this is learning to analyze character traits as this jumpstarts their critical thinking and analysis skills. Use this lesson to help them get the hang of identifying traits based upon text evidence.

4. Analyze and use text structure and features

When it comes to informational text, it is critical to teach kids not only to read the text on the page, but also to look for common ways that authors structure their pieces, as well as text features such as pictures, captions, diagrams, and more!

This lesson helps readers to notice helpful features they may not have otherwise noticed, and encourages them to look at all aspects of a text to glean meaning.

5. Comparing and contrasting texts

Even in the third grade, it is imperative to introduce research skills that kids will continue to develop and refine all throughout their schooling and beyond. When conducting research, one of the most important aspects is to read through multiple sources, and to compare the information found within them to verify and validate accuracy.

While 3rd grade readers do not exactly learn how to choose reputable and valid sources, they begin this years-long process by comparing texts they read in class. This lesson starts with a worksheet that tasks readers with reading two sources about the same topic. It wraps up with a worksheet that asks them to read two distinct paragraphs to find details that are found within both.

6. Understanding cause and effect text structure

Finally, another vital concept to focus on is cause and effect text structures. Integral to both informational and argumentative texts they will read later on, cause and effect relationships are essential for learning concepts in subjects across the curriculum.

This lesson is great for introducing the idea of cause-and-effect relationships in text, while also offering an informational text to read to illustrate how such a structure works in a longer paragraph.

The 3rd grade is another pivotal year for students as they blossom into more sophisticated readers. While they are still building fluency and developing vocabulary, their reading abilities become much more nuanced in that they begin to use reading to develop critical thinking and analysis skills. Find more worksheets and lessons on reading and other subjects inside our free Interactive Classroom that is suitable both for teaching in class and homeschooling.