Kelly’s Gym Class Reading Comprehension Worksheet

Gym class is where a lot of children first meet the feeling of being the slowest one in the room. This Kelly’s Gym Class reading comprehension worksheet gives third graders a short original story about a girl who dreads gym, gets a simple weekly plan from her coach, and discovers that warming up, drinking water, and eating a real breakfast change what her body can do. The passage is written and measured for third grade, so students spend their effort on understanding the story instead of decoding it.

Page one holds the illustrated story. Page two holds five questions: four fill-in-the-bubble items that ask students to find key details and to explain why the coach gave the advice he gave, plus one written response that asks for two details from the text as evidence. That last item is where the real work happens, because a student cannot answer it from memory or from a lucky guess. A complete answer key is on the final page, so this 3rd grade health and nutrition worksheet can go straight into a folder, a literacy center, or a substitute plan.

What’s Included

• One printable three-page PDF: story, questions, and answer key
• An original 228-word fiction passage written at a third-grade reading level
• A full-color illustration of Kelly and her coach after the relay race
• Four multiple-choice questions covering key details and cause and effect
• One text-evidence writing prompt with three ruled lines
• A complete answer key with sample responses for the written item

Three Reasons This Helps Kids

• It builds reading stamina with a full-length passage rather than a paragraph, so students practice holding a story in their heads while they answer.
• It ties health and physical education straight to reading, so warming up, hydration, and breakfast arrive as story details a child can retell.
• It rewards going back to the text, because the written response cannot be finished without two real details from the passage.

Teacher and Parent Ideas

• Read the story aloud once, then have students reread it silently before they touch the questions.
• Ask students to underline the sentence that proves each multiple-choice answer, then compare underlines with a partner.
• Turn the passage into a class chart: three columns for warming up, water, and food, filled in with what Kelly did each week.
• Send the Kelly’s Gym Class reading comprehension worksheet home as a short reading assignment during a health or fitness unit.

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