Year 3 Reading Comprehension Worksheet - Intermediate

Year 3 Reading Comprehension worksheet for Year 3 (Key Stage 2 / Year 3-6 (Ages 7-11)). Intermediate level english practice, aligned to the UK National Curriculum. Print-ready with answer key included.

English•Key Stage 2 / Year 3-6 (Ages 7-11)•Reading Comprehensionintermediate

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The Lantern in the Orchard

Year 3 Reading Comprehension • Ages 7–8 • Intermediate

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Instructions: Read the story carefully, then complete each activity using clues from the text. For questions asking what you think, explain your idea and point to a clue that helped you.

Read the Story

Read the whole story once to find out what happens. Then read it again, noticing details about the characters, setting and events.

The Lantern in the Orchard

Maya was carrying a basket of windfall apples when she noticed a golden light beneath the oldest tree in the orchard. It was nearly dusk, and the branches made long shadows across the grass. She set down her basket and stepped closer.

A small brass lantern stood beside the tree’s twisted roots. Its flame flickered in the breeze, though there was no candle inside. Maya called to Grandad, who was mending a gate nearby. He came over, wiping his hands on a cloth.

“Perhaps it belonged to the old keeper,” he said. “He used to walk here after dark to check the trees.”

Maya wanted to carry the lantern home, but Grandad suggested they leave it where it was until they had asked the village historian. Together, they placed a fallen branch beside it so nobody would trip. As they walked back, Maya glanced over her shoulder. The golden light shone steadily beneath the tree.

Retrieve Details

Find each answer directly in the story. You can look back at the passage to check names, objects and actions.

1. What was Maya carrying when she saw the light?

2. Where was the lantern standing?

3. Who was mending a gate nearby?

4. What did Grandad suggest they do before taking the lantern anywhere?

5. What did they place beside the lantern?

Explore Vocabulary

Use the story to help you work out each word. Write a meaning that fits the way the word is used in the passage.

1. In “windfall apples”, what does “windfall” suggest about how the apples came to be on the ground?

2. What does “flickered” tell you about the lantern’s flame?

3. In the story, what does “historian” mean?

4. Find one word that describes the shape of the tree’s roots. What does that word suggest?

Infer from Clues

An inference is an idea supported by clues in the story. Write what you think and include a detail from the passage that helped you decide.

1. How can you tell that it was getting late?

2. Why might Grandad want to ask the village historian before moving the lantern?

3. How do you think Maya felt when she first saw the light? Give a clue from the story to support your idea.

4. Why did Maya and Grandad place a branch beside the lantern?

Summarise the Story

A summary gives the most important events without retelling every detail. Complete each sentence with a short phrase from your reading of the story.

1. Maya discovered a lantern while she was ____________________________________.

2. Grandad thought the lantern might have belonged to ____________________________________.

3. Before deciding what to do with it, they agreed to ____________________________________.

4. At the end of the story, the lantern’s light ____________________________________.

Answer Key

Activity 1: Reading passage; no written answer required

Activity 2: A basket of windfall apples ; Beside the oldest tree’s twisted roots ; Grandad ; Leave it there until they had asked the village historian ; A fallen branch

Activity 3: Apples blown or fallen from the tree ; It moved or wavered in the breeze ; A person who studies or knows about the village’s past ; Twisted ; it suggests the roots curl or bend in an unusual shape

Activity 4: It was nearly dusk and long shadows stretched across the grass ; He may want to find out its history or rightful owner before moving it ; Answers may include curious, surprised or cautious, supported by her noticing the light and stepping closer ; To warn people and stop them tripping over it

Activity 5: Carrying a basket of windfall apples ; The old keeper ; Ask the village historian ; Shone steadily beneath the tree