Reading Comprehension Worksheet - Practice - Story Elements: Author’s Purpose (Grade 3)

Oct 12, 2026

Uploaded by Asher

Reading Comprehension Worksheet (Practice) focusing on author’s purpose in short story passages for Grade 3. The material includes three story summaries—about Granny and Reddy Fox, a fisherman and a golden fish, and African elephants—and asks learners to identify the author’s purpose as informing, teaching, or making readers laugh. Questions include multiple-choice items plus open-ended prompts for additional examples. An answer key provides the correct choices for questions 1–3.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

Author’s Purpose

Practice: Story Summaries and Questions

Answer Key

Author’s purpose Reading Comprehension Worksheet Practice A parent or tutor should read along with the student , helping as needed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An author’s purpose is the reason for writing something. Sometimes the purpose is to give us information. Sometimes the purpose is to teach us something. Sometimes the purpose is to make us laugh. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here are some story summaries. Think about the author’s purpose for writing each one. Granny Fox wanted Reddy Fox to learn to run across the railroad bridge, but Reddy was scared. So Granny Fox cried out that she heard Bowser the Hound coming toward them. Reddy was even more scared of Bowser the Hound , so he followed Granny across the bridge. But Bowser had not been there at all. Granny had tricked Reddy Fox into running across the bridge! 1. What is the author’s purpose for writing this story? A. to give us information B. to teach us something C. to make us laugh A fisherman caught a little golden fish. He took pity on the little fish, and let him go. In return, the fish promised that he would come back if the fisherman ever needed help. The fisherman’s wife was angry that he had let the fish go, because they had no other food. She told him to go ask the fish for food. So the fisherman went back to the seashore and called to the golden fish. He told the fish that they had no food, and when he got home there was food on the table. 2. What is the author’s purpose for writing this story? A. to give us information B. to teach us something C. to make us laugh Online reading & math for K-5 © [www.k5learning.com](www.k5learning.com) African elephants are some of the smartest animals in the world. They form close friendships with each other and with humans. They communicate with eachother, help each other, and play with each other. They feel both happiness and sorrow. They cry when they are sad. If a friend is sad, an elephant will offer gentle touches with its trunk as comfort. If there is danger, elephants warn eachother by stamping their feet on the ground. Other elephants can feel the ground movement with their feet even if they are twenty miles away. 3. What is the author’s purpose for writing this story? A. to give us information B. to teach us something C. to make us laugh ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4. What is another example of a story written to give us information? 5. What is another example of a story written to teach us something? 6. What is another example of a story written to make us laugh? Answer Key 1. C 2. B 3. A 4-6 Accept any reasonable responses. Online reading & math for K-5 © [www.k5learning.com](www.k5learning.com)

FAQs

What does “author’s purpose” mean in this worksheet?

Author’s purpose is the reason the author writes something. It may be to give information, teach something, or make us laugh.

How many multiple-choice questions are included about author’s purpose?

There are three multiple-choice questions, numbered 1 to 3, each offering choices A, B, or C.

What does the answer key indicate for questions 1–3?

The answer key shows question 1 is C, question 2 is B, and question 3 is A.

Oct 12, 2026

Uploaded by Asher