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How a Compass Finds North

Grade 3 reading practice: read an article about how a compass works, then ask and answer questions using details from the text.

Grade 3ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toRI.3.1

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What’s included

Single worksheet
Auto-graded online
1 Common Core standard
Printable answer key
9 questions
Classroom-ready

Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 3
Subject: ELA
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students answer questions about an informational text using details from it.
Students tell which questions a text does and does not answer.
Students write a question about a text and answer it with a detail from the text.

How to use

Have students read the article twice, then answer each question by pointing to the sentence that gives the answer. Use the last question as a quick check or a partner share.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

RI.3.1

Ask and answer questions to show understanding of an informational text, using the text itself as the basis for the answers.

Preview

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Name Date

How a Compass Finds North

Ask and answer questions using the text.

Read the article

How a Compass Finds North

1Long ago, travelers often looked at the sun and stars to find their way. On a cloudy day or a foggy night, those clues were hidden. A compass helped solve this problem. It is a small tool that shows which way is north, even when the sky is gray.

2Inside a compass is a thin needle that can spin. The needle is a magnet. Earth acts like a giant magnet, too. Because of this, one end of the needle turns until it points north. That end is often painted red or marked with an N.

3People in China made some of the first compasses long ago. They used lodestone, a kind of rock that is naturally magnetic. Later, sailors carried compasses on their ships. With a compass, a crew could keep sailing in the right direction far out at sea, where there was no land to follow.

4Once you know where north is, you can find the other directions. If you face north, south is behind you. East is on your right, and west is on your left.

5A compass can also be fooled. Things made of iron or steel, and other magnets, can pull on the needle. Then it may point the wrong way. That is why hikers hold a compass away from keys, tools and magnets before they read it.

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