Help your students learn how to identify an author’s purpose with this simple and engaging set of Author’s Purpose Reading Worksheets for 3rd Grade. This printable resource gives students meaningful practice determining whether a text was written to inform, persuade, or entertain, while also encouraging them to explain their thinking.
 
Each worksheet includes a short, student friendly reading passage about insects, making the activity both interesting and connected to common science topics. Students read the passage, choose the correct author’s purpose from multiple choice answers, and then respond to a “How do you know?” question to support their answer with evidence from the text.
 
This format helps students move beyond guessing and begin explaining their reasoning, an important reading comprehension skill for third grade learners.
 
This resource is perfect for:
• reading centers
• guided reading groups
• independent practice
• homework
• test prep
• literacy stations
• early finishers
 
What’s Included:
• 3 Author’s Purpose reading worksheets
• One passage written to inform
• One passage written to entertain
• One passage written to persuade
• Multiple choice question for each passage
• “How do you know?” response section with writing lines
• 3 answer key pages for easy grading
 
Each passage is written at an approximate third grade reading level and focuses on engaging insect topics that students enjoy.
 
This resource helps students practice:
• identifying an author’s purpose
• reading comprehension
• supporting answers with evidence
• written response skills
 
The pages are black and white and easy to print, making them perfect for classroom use.
 
Use this set to build strong comprehension skills while helping students clearly understand the difference between inform, persuade, and entertain.