About Skill Builders Reading Comprehension Grade 3 Welcome to the Skill Builders series. his series is designed to make learning both fun and rewarding. his workbook offers a balanced mixture of humor, imagination, and instruction as students steadily improve their reading comprehension skills. he diverse assignments in this workbook are designed to enhance basic reading skills while giving students something fun to think about from seeds to the Wright brothers. Additionally, a critical thinking section includes exercises to help develop higher - order thinking skills. Learning is more effective when approached with enthusiasm. hat s why the Skill Builders series combines academically sound exercises with engaging graphics and exciting themes to make reviewing basic skills at school or at home fun and effective, for both you and your budding scholars. Credits: Editor: Julie Kirsch Layout Design: Mark Conrad Illustrations: Janet Armbrust Cover Concept: Nick Greenwood www.summerbridgeactivities.com 2007 Rainbow Bridge Publishing, Greensboro, North Carolina, 27425. he purchase of this material entitles the buyer to reproduce activities for classroom use only not for commercial resale. Reproduction of these materials for an entire school or district is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced (except as noted above), stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (mechanically, electronically, recording, etc.) without the prior written consent of Rainbow Bridge Publishing. Printed in the USA All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-60418-415-0
able of Contents Suggested Reading List.............3 Stay Safe...........................4 Costume Day......................6 Alisha Jones, Private Eye............8 Brad s Robot......................10 Be a Context Detective............11 Seeds, Seeds, Seeds!...............12 What s the Main Idea?.............13 itle, Please......................14 A Class rip to the Zoo............16 Ready for the Play-Off.............18 Cockroaches......................20 Ben s Leprechaun..................22 You Need a Huggable Pet..........24 he Wright Brothers...............26 Photograph......................28 Mark Spitz........................30 Notes............................32 Bats..............................34 he Vanishing School Supplies.....36 he Littlest Bear..................38 Janek s Birthday Party.............40 Marc Brown......................42 he Story of Clara Pickle..........44 Horace Mann.....................46 My Shadow.......................48 he Human Body.................50 Campfire Walking Salad...........52 Helen Keller......................54 Peterson s Pockets.................56 Colorado Attractions..............58 Now or hen?.....................60 James Cook.......................62 An Unusual Disease...............64 A Camping rip...................66 Ruby Bridges......................68 rancisco Vasquez de Coronado....70 Critical hinking Skills..........72-77 What Does It Mean?...........72 A Mixed-Up Story.............74 Make a Word.................75 Homophone Word Search.....76 Using Context Clues...........77 Answer Key.......................78
Stay Safe rains go almost everywhere. here are almost 200,000 miles (315,000 km) of track in the United States. Maybe there is even a train track near your house. If there is, you need to learn a few rules so that you can stay safe. rains are big and heavy. If you are on the tracks, you are in danger. Even if an engineer sees you, it can take him more than a mile to stop the train. Sometimes, people walk on or next to railroad tracks when they take shortcuts. hey think they will know when a train is coming. hey are wrong. hey don t know. rains run at all times, even at night. When you have to cross a train track, be sure to go to a special crossing. Watch all of the signs. Never go around a gate that is down. Never cross the tracks when lights are flashing. rains can be very fast and quiet. You may not hear one coming until it is too late. Remember: Cross at special crossings. Pay attention to the signs. Don t ever play near train tracks. Stay safe!
Reading Comprehension Read each sentence. If the sentence is true, circle. If it is false, circle. 1. One purpose of Stay Safe is to teach you how to ride a bike. 2. One purpose of Stay Safe is to give the history of trains. 3. One purpose of Stay Safe is to teach safety rules for railroad tracks. 4. One purpose of Stay Safe is to keep you from getting hurt by trains. 5. One purpose of Stay Safe is to sell train tickets. 6. One purpose of Stay Safe is to tell the exact times that trains run. 7. One purpose of Stay Safe is to make you laugh.
Costume Day Rosa Ramos had wanted just one thing ever since her first year at Washington Street School. She wanted to win the Costume Day contest. Costume Day was on a Saturday in April. Everyone came. here were game booths, balloons, and lots of good things to eat. he best part of the day was the costume contest. A winner was chosen for every grade. here was also a grand prize. his year the prize was a free pass to the zoo. Rosa thought about her costume all year. She looked at books and magazines to get ideas. She looked in shops and catalogs, too. Most of the kids wanted easy costumes. Rosa wanted hers to be special. She wanted a costume that was different from all of her friends costumes. One day, Rosa was doing a report on mammals for her science class. She saw a picture that gave her an idea for her perfect costume. She bought a striped tail and the ears with her birthday money. hen, she painted a white stripe on a black leotard. Next, she painted paws on an old pair of black shoes. Lastly, Rosa collected bottles of perfume from some of her neighbors and from her grandmother. At last, the great day came. 6
Reading Comprehension 1. What animal costume did Rosa wear? 2. Read these two sentences about Rosa on Costume Day. Decide which sentence caused the other sentence to happen. Circle cause or effect below each sentence to show your answer. When Rosa got to the school playground, all of the other children screamed and ran away. cause effect Rosa put on her costume and used all of the perfume. cause effect 3. What does Rosa want? 4. Do you think Rosa will win the costume contest? Why or why not? 5. Number the following events in the order that they happened. Rosa puts on her costume. Rosa looks at books and magazines for good costume ideas. Rosa paints a white stripe on a black leotard. 7