3rd Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets: The Bird Feeder Count
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Download PDF worksheetAnswer key (PDF)Worksheet + answer key (3 pages)
The worksheet is 2 pages (passage, then questions); the answer key is 1 page. Print at 100% / "Actual size" on US Letter paper. Free for personal and classroom use.
Skill: Reading a short story and answering questions about details, problems and how a character changes
Teaching tips and what to try next
Good for third graders who read short chapter books on their own and can retell a story in order. After reading, ask your child to explain why Priya's second plan worked better than the first, since that change is the heart of the story. For more practice with characters, try Reading Comprehension: The Science Fair Surprise, or make a tally chart of your own with Reading Picture Graphs With a Key.
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About this worksheet
This third-grade reading comprehension worksheet has an original short story about Priya, who spends a week with her grandfather and decides to count the birds that visit his feeder. When the sparrows keep hopping around, she comes up with a better plan using a chart and tally marks. The story is about 190 words long, in four paragraphs, and works well for third graders reading on their own.
After the story come five questions. Four are multiple choice and ask about key details and events: what Grandpa Joe gave Priya, why she lost count, how she changed the way she counted, and which bird had the most marks. The last question is open-ended. It asks how Priya feels about counting birds at the end and how the reader knows, with lines for one or two sentences. Third graders are expected to ask and answer questions using the text and to describe how a character's actions move the story along, and these questions practice both.
How to use it: read the story together, or let your child read it alone and then retell it in their own words. For each multiple choice question, ask your child to underline the sentence that proves the answer. For the last question, talk about what Priya says and does in the final paragraph.
The answer key marks each correct answer with the supporting sentence from the story and gives a sample answer for the last question. For tally practice, try our Counting Tally Marks to 20 worksheet. For another story, try our Reading Comprehension: The Missing Library Book worksheet.