Common Core: 3rd Grade English Language Arts : Reading
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Common Core: 3rd Grade English Language Arts
All Common Core: 3rd Grade English Language Arts Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #8 : Understand Connections Within Texts
The Dog and the Princess
Once upon a time Princess Ali and her mother, The Queen, ruled all of the lands. Princess Ali’s father had died when Ali was very young, so she had no memory of him and she always felt like something was missing from her life. But, many people told her tales of the great King Archie. Every story that she heard made her father sound like a jovial and fun king. Everyone always laughed when they spoke of King Archie. She thought about him often and how different her life may have been if she had grown up with both a mother and a father.
On a beautiful spring day, Princess Ali was walking in the grand gardens when she spotted a goofy-looking dog. His legs were way too long for his body, one ear stood straight up, while the other folded down, and his big tongue hung out of the left side of his mouth. He had a great big grin on his face as he ran towards Princess Ali. The dog was running too quickly and wasn’t able to stop his long legs from crashing into Princess Ali, so they both tumbled to the ground.
Princess Ali giggled as the dog covered her in kisses. When she was able to break free, she stood up and the dog began to dance in circles around her, barking happily. She saw that he wore a red collar with the name “Archie” stitched in white writing. She decided this dog must belong to someone so she spent all day walking the dog around the kingdom trying to find his rightful owners.
Throughout the day Princess Ali laughed more than she ever had. The dog spent the whole day trying to please her and make her laugh. He chased butterflies, played in puddles, licked her hand, snuggled his head into her belly, and pulled flowers out of the ground for her. As the day drew to a close, they hadn’t come across anyone that claimed to be his owner.
Princess Ali decided to keep the dog Archie, and they all lived happily ever after.
Of the choices below, what is the best reason for the author choosing to name the dog Archie?
Because Archie is a very popular dog name
Because the author likes the name, Archie
Because Archie is Princess Ali’s favorite name
Because the dog shared similar characteristics to King Archie
Because the dog shared similar characteristics to King Archie
At the start of the passage, Kind Archie is described as a funny, happy person. People laugh when they recall memories of him. Near the end of the passage, we learn that Princess Ali laughed and enjoyed being around the dog, Archie. Thus, the best reason for the author choosing to name the dog Archis is because the dog shared similar characteristics to King Archie.
Example Question #8 : Understand Connections Within Texts
The Dog and the Princess
Once upon a time Princess Ali and her mother, The Queen, ruled all of the lands. Princess Ali’s father had died when Ali was very young, so she had no memory of him and she always felt like something was missing from her life. But, many people told her tales of the great King Archie. Every story that she heard made her father sound like a jovial and fun king. Everyone always laughed when they spoke of King Archie. She thought about him often and how different her life may have been if she had grown up with both a mother and a father.
On a beautiful spring day, Princess Ali was walking in the grand gardens when she spotted a goofy-looking dog. His legs were way too long for his body, one ear stood straight up, while the other folded down, and his big tongue hung out of the left side of his mouth. He had a great big grin on his face as he ran towards Princess Ali. The dog was running too quickly and wasn’t able to stop his long legs from crashing into Princess Ali, so they both tumbled to the ground.
Princess Ali giggled as the dog covered her in kisses. When she was able to break free, she stood up and the dog began to dance in circles around her, barking happily. She saw that he wore a red collar with the name “Archie” stitched in white writing. She decided this dog must belong to someone so she spent all day walking the dog around the kingdom trying to find his rightful owners.
Throughout the day Princess Ali laughed more than she ever had. The dog spent the whole day trying to please her and make her laugh. He chased butterflies, played in puddles, licked her hand, snuggled his head into her belly, and pulled flowers out of the ground for her. As the day drew to a close, they hadn’t come across anyone that claimed to be his owner.
Princess Ali decided to keep the dog Archie, and they all lived happily ever after.
What is the first thing we learn about the dog Archie?
His tongue hangs out of the side of his mouth
He has long legs
One of his ears stands straight up
He looked goofy
He looked goofy
We are introduced to the dog Archie in the second paragraph. We are told that Princess Ali spotted a “goofy-looking dog”. The next sentence goes on to describe why Archie looks goofy. The correct answer is, “He looked goofy”.
Example Question #3 : Understand Connections Within Texts
Prince Meanerman
Once upon a time, a mean prince ruled over a farming town called Summersville. The prince was named Prince Sweeterman, but he was known throughout Summersville as Prince Meanerman. The people of Summersville were very poor farmers, as the prince kept most of the wealth and food for himself. The farmers worked day and night trying to grow enough food for themselves, but still, the Prince took more and more. The sight of the hard-working farmers cracked Prince Sweeterman up as he watched from his castle in joy as the farmers struggled day after day. The Prince was warned that he should not treat his people this way, but the warning went in one ear and out the other. He never changed his ways.
One, by one the farmers began to look for other kingdoms to take them in. Eventually, Prince Sweeterman was left with no workers and no kingdom to rule over. With no food to eat for himself, he grew very hungry and meaner and meaner each day. Prince Meanerman never did learn his lesson.
Of the choices below, what’s the best reason for why the farms began to look for other kingdoms to live in?
Because they didn’t like the weather in Summersville
Because they wanted a change
Because they didn’t want to be farmers
Because Prince Sweeterman wasn’t a kind ruler
Because Prince Sweeterman wasn’t a kind ruler
The first paragraph describes Prince Sweeterman as a mean person, he is even nicknamed “Prince Meanerman”. The farmers all worked very hard, but never had enough food or money for themselves because the prince would take it all for himself. Because of this, the farmer all began to leave. The passage doesn’t mention the weather of Summersville or whether or not the farmers actually enjoyed farming or not. Thus the best answer is, “Because Prince Sweeterman wasn’t a kind ruler”.
Example Question #91 : Reading
Prince Meanerman
Once upon a time, a mean prince ruled over a farming town called Summersville. The prince was named Prince Sweeterman, but he was known throughout Summersville as Prince Meanerman. The people of Summersville were very poor farmers, as the prince kept most of the wealth and food for himself. The farmers worked day and night trying to grow enough food for themselves, but still, the Prince took more and more. The sight of the hard-working farmers cracked Prince Sweeterman up as he watched from his castle in joy as the farmers struggled day after day. The Prince was warned that he should not treat his people this way, but the warning went in one ear and out the other. He never changed his ways.
One, by one the farmers began to look for other kingdoms to take them in. Eventually, Prince Sweeterman was left with no workers and no kingdom to rule over. With no food to eat for himself, he grew very hungry and meaner and meaner each day. Prince Meanerman never did learn his lesson.
What is the first thing we learn about Prince Sweeterman?
He is known as Prince Meanerman
He is mean
The prince keeps the food for himself
The prince keeps the wealth for himself
He is mean
If we are looking for the first thing we learn from a story, we want to start at the beginning. The first sentence tells us that “a mean prince” ruled over Summersville. The next sentence tells us that the prince’s name is Prince Sweeterman. Thus, the first thing we learn about Prince Sweeterman is that he is mean.
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All Common Core: 3rd Grade English Language Arts Resources
