This Grandparents Day reading comprehension worksheet gives 3rd graders an original story about a girl and her grandmother planting an apple tree, plus four questions and a written response. A full answer key makes checking quick.
Stories, hugs and a whole lot of wisdom
Grandparents Day is celebrated in the United States on the first Sunday after Labor Day, and 3rd graders use it to celebrate the older people who love them. It's a great time for reading and writing with heart: kids read stories about grandparents, interview a grandparent or special older friend about life when they were young, and write thank-you letters or short memoirs. They compare then and now, like school, toys and technology. The click moment is when a child comes back amazed that Grandpa never had a phone in his pocket.
This holiday is perfect for reading, writing and family connection. Remember some kids celebrate a special neighbor, aunt or friend instead, and that is wonderful too.
Read a short grandparent story, then have kids tell a partner the three most important details without looking. Afterward they check the text together. It is a gentle way to build comprehension.
Why it works: researchers who compared ten study methods found practice testing is one of the two that work best (Dunlosky and colleagues, 2013).
Try it withGrandma’s Apple Tree Reading Comprehension WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →Brainstorm great interview questions as a class, modeling the difference between yes-or-no questions and ones that get a story. Kids take their best five home to interview a grandparent or older friend.
Why it works: showing first, practicing together, then letting kids try alone is the "gradual release" model teachers have relied on for decades (Pearson and Gallagher, 1983).
After interviews, kids draw a two-column picture chart: life when their grandparent was 8 versus life now. Sharing the charts sparks lots of laughs and great talk.
Why it works: pairing a picture with each word gives kids two ways to remember it, a well-tested principle of how people learn (Mayer, 2009).
Teacher favorites right now: Grandma’s Apple Tree Reading Comprehension Worksheet.
In the United States, National Grandparents Day is the first Sunday after Labor Day in September.
Interview a grandparent, write a thank-you card, read a grandparent story or make a memory jar. Simple, personal projects mean the most.
Invite them to celebrate any special older person: a neighbor, an aunt, a family friend. Letters can be mailed or sent by video too.
Try: What was school like for you? What games did you play? What is your favorite memory from when you were my age?
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