The Message and How It Is Carried is a free printable Grade 3 English worksheet on naming the message and the details that convey it, aligned to Common Core standard RL.3.2. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions, 20 of them with different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
20 of these 25 sets ask different questions — this skill does not have 25 questions to give. The rest reorder them, so no two pupils have the same paper in front of them.
The Message and How It Is Carried
RL.3.2
NameDate
Read the text, then answer the questions.
1.Read the text, then answer the questions.
The Night the Lamp Went Out
Grace's father kept the lighthouse. On the worst night of the winter, the lamp went out.
He was ill in bed. Grace was eleven.
She carried the oil up ninety-seven steps in the dark, twice, because the can was too heavy to lift full. Her arms shook so much on the second trip that she had to sit down halfway.
She trimmed the wick the way she had watched a hundred times. She struck the match on the fourth try.
By the time the light swung out across the water, three ships had already turned back. Grace never knew whether she had been in time. She decided not to think about it.
1. What is the central message of this story?
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.
The Fox and the Well
A fox leaned too far over a well and fell in. The water was shallow, but the walls were smooth and far too high to climb.
He was still sitting there when a goat came by and looked down.
"Is the water good?" asked the goat.
"The best I have ever tasted," said the fox. "Come down and see."
The goat jumped in. The fox climbed onto the goat's back, sprang out, and trotted off.
"Wait!" called the goat. "How do I get out?"
"You should have thought about that," said the fox, "before you jumped."
1. What is the moral of this fable?
LessonPrint · RL.3.2 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — The Message and How It Is Carried
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Doing the job matters even when you never find out whether it was enough.
2.1. Look before you leap — the goat jumped in without asking how he would get out.
Questions about The Message and How It Is Carried
What does the The Message and How It Is Carried worksheet cover?
It practises naming the message and the details that convey it — 2 questions for Grade 3, all on Common Core RL.3.2: Retell a tale, state its message, and show which details carry it. The instruction to pupils is “Read the text, then answer the questions”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which Common Core standard does The Message and How It Is Carried practise?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.2 — RL.3.2, in the Reading: Literature domain for Grade 3. The published standard reads: “Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
The Message and How It Is Carried is written for Grade 3, typically ages 8-9. It is one of the sheets on RL.3.2, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does The Message and How It Is Carried come with an answer key?
Yes. All 2 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of The Message and How It Is Carried can I print?
25 versions, of which 20 ask genuinely different questions — this skill does not have 25 distinct questions to give, so the rest reorder them and no two pupils still share a paper. Set 1 downloads all 25 as one PDF.
Is The Message and How It Is Carried free to print and photocopy?
Yes. The Message and How It Is Carried, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
More practice for RL.3.2
Retell a tale, state its message, and show which details carry it.