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Context Clues: Grade 3 Reading Comprehension Passage and Vocabulary Practice

Reading Comprehension Questions
Grade 3
English

Context Clues: Grade 3 Reading Comprehension Passage and Vocabulary Practice

Honeybees are amazing creatures that play a vital role in our world. They live in a colony, which is a large group of insects that live and work together as a team. Every bee in this group has a special job to ensure the group survives. Most bees live in a hive, another word for their nest, which is carefully built out of wax produced by their own bodies.
The worker bees are all females, and they are the busiest members of the group. Every day, they leave their home to forage. For instance, they might fly for miles to search for pollen and sweet water from colorful flowers. While they look for food, they help the flowers grow. They pollinate the plants by carrying yellow dust from one flower to another. This movement of pollen is what allows plants to produce fruits, vegetables, and seeds.
Flowers produce a sugary liquid called nectar, such as the sweet juice found deep inside a clover or a rose. During the spring, flowers are abundant, or plentiful, so the bees can collect a lot of food. However, they must be very careful during their flights because their wings are quite fragile. Unlike the strong and sturdy wings of a hawk, a bee’s wings are thin and can be damaged easily by wind or rain.
Inside the hive, you will also find drones. These are male bees whose only job is to help the queen bee create new life. Most bees are not naturally aggressive. They do not actively try to attack people; instead, they usually only sting when they feel they must protect their family from a threat. If the environment becomes too polluted, bees might vanish. When they disappear from an area, it becomes much harder for farmers to grow the crops we need to eat. Before becoming adults, bees start as a larva, which is a baby bee that looks like a tiny, white worm. Finally, bees must navigate back to their hive. They use the position of the sun to find their way home across many miles of fields.

Context Clue Detective: Mini-Anchor Chart

Use these clues to help you figure out the meaning of unknown words!
Clue Type
What to Look For
Example
Definition
The text tells you exactly what the word means.
The colony, which is a large group...
Synonym
The text uses a word that means the same thing.
Their hive, or nest...
Antonym
The text uses a word that means the opposite.
It was fragile, unlike the strong wings...
Example
The text gives specific examples of the word.
Nectar, such as the juice in a rose...
Inference
You use logic and surrounding ideas to guess.
They navigate by using the sun...


Section 1: Word Meanings (DOK 2)

Instructions: For each item, choose the best meaning for the bolded word. Then, in the columns to the right, identify the specific clue word(s) from the text and the clue type you used.
  1. In the text, the word colony most likely means:
  1. In the text, the word colony most likely means: A. A large group living together B. A dangerous predator C. A single lonely insect D. A type of flower
  1. In the text, the word hive most likely means:
  1. In the text, the word hive most likely means: A. A place where bees sleep alone B. A tool for farming C. A type of honey D. A bee's nest or home
  1. In the text, the word forage most likely means:
  1. In the text, the word forage most likely means: A. To take a long nap B. To build a wax wall C. To search for food D. To hide from the sun
  1. In the text, the word pollinate most likely means:
  1. In the text, the word pollinate most likely means: A. To drink water from a pond B. To move pollen between plants C. To eat the flower petals D. To sleep inside a flower
  1. In the text, the word nectar most likely means:
  1. In the text, the word nectar most likely means: A. A sugary liquid from flowers B. A sharp bee sting C. A hard seed D. A type of wax
  1. In the text, the word abundant most likely means:
  1. In the text, the word abundant most likely means: A. Very rare B. Empty or missing C. Existing in large amounts D. Difficult to find
  1. In the text, the word fragile most likely means:
  1. In the text, the word fragile most likely means: A. Brightly colored B. Very heavy C. Strong and sturdy D. Easily broken or delicate
  1. In the text, the word drones most likely means:
  1. In the text, the word drones most likely means: A. Young baby bees B. Male bees with one specific job C. The leader of the hive D. Female worker bees
  1. In the text, the word aggressive most likely means:
  1. In the text, the word aggressive most likely means: A. Friendly and calm B. Lazy and slow C. Ready to attack or protect fiercely D. Very small
  1. In the text, the word vanish most likely means:
  1. In the text, the word vanish most likely means: A. To grow bigger B. To stay in one place C. To appear suddenly D. To disappear entirely
  1. In the text, the word larva most likely means:
  1. In the text, the word larva most likely means: A. A type of flower leaf B. A baby bee in an early stage C. An old bee D. A piece of pollen
  1. In the text, the word navigate most likely means:
  1. In the text, the word navigate most likely means: A. To find one's way or steer B. To go to sleep C. To get lost in a field D. To dance in the air
Clue Analysis
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Section 2: Deep Thinking (DOK 3)

13. Context Change: The passage mentions that bees live in a hive built out of wax. Another word for a small room in the hive is a cell.
  • How does the meaning of cell in the beehive differ from the meaning of cell in the sentence: "My flashlight stopped working because it needs a new battery cell"? Explain how the context (the words around it) helped you know the difference.
14. Multiple Meanings: Read this sentence: "The bees will store honey for the winter."
  • Now, write a NEW sentence using the word store where it has a completely different meaning. Then, explain what store means in your new sentence.
15. Word Application: Choose one of the bolded words from the passage (e.g., fragile, abundant, or vanish). Write a creative sentence about something OTHER than bees using that word correctly.


Section 3: My Vocabulary Table

Complete the table below for 10 of the bolded words from the text.
Word
My Definition (In your own words)
My Own Sentence
1.


2.


3.


4.


5.


6.


7.


8.


9.


10.



CCSS Alignment: L.3.4 (Determine word meaning), RI.3.4 (Determine academic/domain words).