Informational Main Idea

Grade 3 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the answer.

1. Read this first

   Small Trees, Big Help

   Walk down a busy city street, and you may see trees growing in small squares of soil. These street trees may look like simple decorations. In fact, they do important work. Street trees make cities healthier and more pleasant places to live.

   First, trees help keep cities cool. Streets, sidewalks, and rooftops soak up heat from the sun. On summer days, a city can feel much hotter than the countryside nearby. Tree leaves shade the ground below them. Leaves also give off water, which cools the air around them. A shady sidewalk can feel many degrees cooler than a sunny one.

   Second, trees help clean the air. Cars and buses give off dust and smoke. Tiny bits of this dust stick to tree leaves. Later, rain washes the dust to the ground. Trees also take in a gas called carbon dioxide and give off oxygen.

   Third, trees help with heavy rain. In a city, most of the ground is covered by hard surfaces. Rainwater cannot soak into them, so it rushes into drains. Too much water at once can cause flooding. Tree roots and the soil around them soak up some of that water. The leaves also catch raindrops and slow them down.

   Street trees help animals, too. Birds build nests in the branches. Squirrels find seeds, and bees visit the flowers. A row of trees can connect one park to another, like a green path for wildlife.

   Still, life is hard for a street tree. Its roots have little room to spread. Salt from winter roads can harm the soil. That is why many cities have tree teams. Workers choose strong kinds of trees and water young ones during dry weeks. Some cities ask neighbors to help water the trees on their block.

   A city with many trees is cooler, cleaner, and greener. Each tree is small, but together they make a big difference.

2. 1.

   What is the main idea of this text?

   • Street trees have a hard life because their roots lack room.
   • Cities feel much hotter than the countryside in summer.
   • Tree leaves catch raindrops and slow them down as they fall.
   • Street trees do important work that makes cities better places to live.
3. 2.

   What is the main idea of paragraph 2?

   • The countryside is cooler than a city.
   • Leaves give off water into the air.
   • Rooftops soak up heat from the sun.
   • Trees help keep city streets cooler.
4. 3.

   Which detail supports the idea that trees help with heavy rain?

   • Tiny bits of dust stick to the leaves.
   • Birds build nests in the branches.
   • Workers water young trees in dry weeks.
   • Tree roots and soil soak up some water.
5. 4.

   Which sentence is true but too narrow to be the main idea of the whole text?

   • Most city ground soaks up rain easily.
   • Street trees grow best near salty roads.
   • Street trees help cities in many ways.
   • Squirrels find seeds in street trees.
6. 5.

   Which is the best summary of this text?

   • Birds, squirrels, and bees all live in street trees and use them as a path between city parks.
   • Street trees cool the air, clean it, soak up rain, and help animals, so cities care for them.
   • Street trees grow in small squares of soil, and their roots do not have much room to spread out.
   • Cities are hot because sidewalks and roofs soak up heat, so people should stay inside all summer.
7. 6.

   Which is the best title for this text?

   • When City Drains Overflow
   • How Bees Visit Flowers
   • Planting a Forest in the Country
   • Why Cities Need Their Trees
8. 7.

   What is paragraph 3 mostly about?

   • how people breathe in oxygen
   • how dust comes from cars and buses
   • how trees help clean the air
   • how rain washes city streets clean
9. 8.

   What is the main idea of the paragraph that begins "Still, life is hard"?

   • Tree roots break the sidewalks in many cities.
   • Salt from winter roads helps young trees grow.
   • Street trees face problems, so people help care for them.
   • Neighbors plant new parks on every block.
10. 9.

    Why does the author use the words First, Second, and Third?

    • to count the trees on one street
    • to tell the steps for watering trees
    • to list the ways trees help the city
    • to show the order for planting trees
11. 10.

    Which sentence from the text best states the main idea?

    • Rainwater cannot soak into them, so it rushes into drains.
    • That is why many cities have tree teams.
    • Street trees help animals, too.
    • Street trees make cities healthier and more pleasant places to live.