Unit 3 Summative Assessment
Grade 3
Nonfiction Informational
Name:_____________
Standards
Unit 3 Reading: Students will be able to use
Date:
comprehension strategies, use knowledge of text structure,
identify main ideas, and use strategies to infer about
unfamiliar words.
4
3
2
1
Exceeds standard
Meets standard
(Proficient)
Approaches standard
(Basic)
Supports thinking
from one specific
detail from text
Finds appropriate
answer without
support
Inaccurate answer
Able to identify
main idea with 2
supporting details
Missing one part
Missing both main
idea and
supporting details
3.2.4.4. Determine the
meaning of 3 grade words
Able to use context
clues and decoding
skills to understand
3rd grade words.
Able to understand
some 3 grade words
Unable to use
context clues and
decoding skills
3.2.5.5 Use text features
Use text features
Read some text
features
Skip text
structures.
3.2.7.7. Use information
gained from illustrations and
the words in a text to
demonstrate understanding of
the text.
Develop
understandings
based on
illustrations.
Basic understanding
of illustrations.
Skip illustrations.
3.2.1.1. Ask and answer
questions based on evidence
3.2.2.2 Determine the main
idea and supporting details
3.2.9.9. Compare and contrast
the most important points and
key details presented in 2 texts
on the same topics
Able to identify
main idea with
more than 2
supporting details
and elaborates on
them
Able to compare
and contrast the
most important
points and key
details presented
in 2 texts on the
same topics
Able to accurately
identify main idea
and key details that
are similar in 2
texts and those
that are different.
Listed unimportant
ideas and details
from both passages,
OR didn’t make
comparisons
Does not meet
standard
(Below Basic)
Unable to
accurately
compare and
contrast main
idea and details
from two texts
Unit 3 Summative Assessment
Grade 3
Nonfiction Informational
Read the two following texts and answer the questions that follow:
Animal Studies
Animals are wonderful. If you look closely at how they live you will find many surprises. It is
hard to look closely at insects. They are very small. Many of them fly away when you come near.
But if you have a chance to watch them you will find how they live. Watching animals is a job that
scientists do. It is called making observations. They have learned a lot about animals. Scientist
learned about tiny animals. They have studied insects. They found that insects have tools. They
use those tools to live. They learned about the sawfly. This is just one animal they have studied.
Imagine what the sawfly is like. It is a fly but not like many others. They call it the sawfly
because it has a kind of saw. It's not a real saw. But it looks like one. And it works like one. It is
part of the sawfly. The sawfly uses the saw
to make places where the eggs will be safe. It saws at plants. So it makes a place where the eggs
can go. Then the sawfly does something very special It makes a sort of homemade glue that
fastens them where they are laid. We are not sure how it does that. But if you can watch the
sawfly you will see this happen.
Some insects have cutting instruments that work just like scissors. The poppy-bee is one of
them. It is a bee that makes it home in wood. This bee has a boring tool, too. It uses the tool to
bore into old wood. It looks like a tool that a carpenter uses. Carpenters make things out of wood.
The poppy-bee makes its nest out of wood.
Scientists observe birds, too. They have seen birds use their bills to get what they need.
Some birds use their bills to cut into wood. They have sharp bills. They can cut a hole in a tree.
They drill the hole to get inside the tree where insects live. Then they eat them.
Every animal is amazing. Even dogs and cats can surprise you. The more you look at
animals the more you will learn. Nature is full of surprises. Every part of every animal has a
purpose. Scientists learn more about them every day. Nature is a wonderful part of our world.
Scientists have studied nature and written books. They help us know more.
Unit 3 Summative Assessment
Grade 3
Amazing
Animal
Helpers
K-Dog, a bottlenose dolphin, has a camera
attached to its flipper to record underwater
objects. 2003. Navy/Getty Images
This dolphin is helping soldiers. How? It
looks for hidden objects on the ocean
floor. Other animals help people too.
Jump inside to learn all about them!
Nonfiction Informational
children read. That helps kids feel
confident while they read. The dogs do
not rush the kids or correct them.
Helpful Horses
Meet Cuddles, a guide horse. She is fullgrown at 2 feet tall. That is about the
size of a large dog. Cuddles helps guide
her owner, who is blind. Cuddles wears
special sneakers to protect her hooves.
Marvelous Monkeys
Some monkeys help people who cannot
move their arms or legs. The monkeys
are trained to do tasks such as getting
water from the refrigerator or putting a
CD in a music player.
Animals Have Special Jobs!
Many different types of animals help
people. See how these animals lend
a hand—or a flipper, hoof, or paw!
This dog helps find
people buried in
collapsed buildings.
osha.gov
Diving Dolphins
A special team of bottlenose dolphins
helps the U.S. Navy in the ocean waters
near Iraq. The dolphins use sonar to find
unsafe objects in the water. Sonar is the
use of sound to find things. After the
dolphins finish their job, they
Hot Dogs
are rewarded with a favorite snack—fish!
The dolphins' work helps keep our troops
safe from harm.
• A dog can search for people in the
water.
Take a look at some ways these furry
friends help people.
• Some dogs looks for people who could
be buried in snow.
Reading Dogs
• Other dogs work to cheer up sick
children in hospitals.
Some dogs help children become better
readers. The dogs sit and listen to the
• A colorful poodle might visit a child in a
hospital
Summative Assessment
Grade 3
Unit 3: Nonfiction Informational Text
[Type
text]
1. In three sentences or more, tell what the story Animal Studies is mostly about.
2. After you have read Amazing Animal Helpers, what do the animals described in this passage have in common?
Summative Assessment
Grade 3
3.Complete the Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the two passages.
the boxes below.
Unit 3: Nonfiction Informational Text
[Type
text]
Write the titles of each passage in