Grade 3: Reading (2003 VDOE Released Items)
Multiple-choice exercise
Content © 2003 Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Education; Permission to Use Granted by VDOE; Author of Activity: Tami Maloney; All rights reserved. E-mail comments and questions to Tami Maloney.
Choose the correct answer for each question.

Why did Turtle give up on having dinner in Spider's house?
- Spider did not eat food that Turtle liked.
- Turtle couldn't keep his hands clean.
- Spider did not invite Turtle to eat there.
- Turtle could not walk to Spider's house.


- fear
- there
- wear
- care

In paragraph 5, what does the word appetite mean?
- idea
- hand
- hunger
- house


- phone
- jewel
- kept
- half

In paragraph 13, the word attempted means--
- got ready
- tried
- gave up
- asked

In most of this story, both Turtle and Spider can BEST be described as--
- selfish
- truthful
- afraid
- kind

The main reason someone would read this story is to--
- learn about underwater turtles
- be entertained by a funny story
- gain facts about Africa
- find out how real spiders live


- knock
- door
- home
- idea

How does Turtle teach Spider a lesson?
- He makes food that Spider does not like to eat.
- He asks Spider to help him make the dinner.
- He makes Spider wash hands that he does not have.
- He serves dinner in a place where Spider cannot go.

You can tell this story is a folk tale because--
- it happens in a mysterious jungle
- animals eat food
- it is a true story from another country
- animals talk and act like people


- About chimpanzees Jane Goodall by watching them learned many interesting facts.
- Jane Goodall learned many interesting facts about chimpanzees by watching them.
- Many interesting facts about chimpanzees by watching them Jane Goodall learned.
- Learned many interesting facts Jane Goodall by watching them about chimpanzees.


- cried
- day
- paid
- sled

What does the word goal mean in paragraph 6 of the story?
- plan
- home
- report
- age

Which is the BEST summary of the first three paragraphs?
- Jane's interest in animals as a child led to her working with animals as an adult.
- As a child, Jane caused her mother to worry when she disappeared to look for animals to watch.
- Even when she was a little girl, Jane dreamed of traveling to wild and interesting lands.
- Jane always wanted to be a teacher and share what she knew with other people.

If you put these names in alphabetical order, which one comes first?
- Goliath
- David
- Fifi
- Jane

Which sentence from the story BEST states its main idea?
- Many years later when she was a grownup, Jane was watching and waiting again.
- The first six months of Jane's work in Africa were the most difficult.
- She discovered that chimps eat meat, and she learned that they make and use tools.
- Jane Goodall has spent most of her life studying chimpanzees.

More information about Jane Goodall could be found in--
- a dictionary
- magazines about pets
- a book of African folk tales
- her autobiography

You can tell that this story is a biography because it--
- is about the lives of animals in their natural homes
- takes place somewhere that is far away from here
- tells about events in the life of a real person
- is more interesting than other kinds of stories

What is this poem mainly about?
- Having a snack at home
- Going home on the bus
- Riding on a seesaw
- Taking the bus to school

Which words in the fourth verse of the poem name PEOPLE, PLACES or THINGS?
- around, open, out
- the, I, my, and
- corner, stop, door
- see, flips, hop

The last word of line 4 of the poem rhymes with the last word in line--
- 8
- 12
- 16
- 20

At the end of the poem, the person speaking feels--
- lonely
- friendly
- sleepy
- happy


- stop
- free
- snack
- flips


Which poem begins on page 12?
- "On Our Way"
- "Fun in School"
- "Learning, Learning"
- "Everyone's Home!"


On which page can the poem "The Bus Ride" be found?
- 14
- 16
- 18
- 20