Lightning 3rd Grade Nonfiction Reading Comprehension

About this worksheet

Lightning forms when bits of ice bump together inside a storm cloud, and a bolt heats the air so fast that it bursts outward as thunder. The passage also explains why the flash arrives before the boom and ends on what to do when you hear thunder.

Nearly every question here is a why or a what causes question, so this is the sheet for practicing cause and effect in science writing. Question four asks for both a rule and the reason behind it, with two lines to write on, and a child who only gives the rule has answered half of it. Black and white, so it prints cleanly on any printer.

What students will practice

• Explain what causes lightning and thunder using the text
• Describe a cause and effect relationship in a science passage
• Give a safety rule and the reason for it

Details

Grade level

Grade 3

Subject

Reading · Comprehension

Standard

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.3

Pages

1

Format

PDF · US Letter and A4 included

License

Free for classroom use · Attribution appreciated

Last updated

September 17, 2026