10 Free 3rd Grade Reading Fluency Passages

Serena D., M.A. Ed.Feb 4, 2023

Fluent readers are made and not born.

Sure, reading comes naturally to a small percentage of children, but everyone else has to work really hard at it. It takes years of practice to become a fluent reader. Fluent readers are phonetically accurate, quick at building meaning, and have prosody (rhythm, expression, etc.).

One great way to improve reading fluency is to read passages aloud! Choose a passage at your student’s reading level and practice reading aloud as a small group.

3rd Grade Reading Fluency Passages

Help your third grader be more confident by gaining fluency skills with our free reading passages! Use these reading passages as informal fluency practice or for fluency drills. (Fluency drills are a quick practice that kids can do with a teacher. They can repeatedly read aloud short passages with you and then continue to practice independently.)

1. Digging for Dinosaurs

2. Skateboarding and Roller Skating

Comprehension Passage

3. Sharks

4. Context Clues

Non-fiction Passages

5. Volcanoes

6. Smelly Eggs

Reading Comprehension skills

The best way I know to get kids engaged in reading comprehension is through life science and nonfiction passages or books. Kids LOVE animals, and what better way to engage in learning to read than talking about something you already love! As you read together, you learn more about things you are interested in and unlock the best part of reading—great readers can read to learn even when they are still learning to read!