Perspective Taking Reading Comprehension Passages — Grade 3
Two people can live through the same event, walk away with different stories, and both be partly right.
This resource is in the full SEL Resource Library. See what’s included or start with 10 free resources. Have an account? Log in.
About this resource
Two people can live through the same event, walk away with different stories, and both be partly right. These perspective taking reading comprehension passages help Grade 3 readers work with that idea in ten texts at F&P levels N–P. The set deepens Social Awareness, a CASEL competency, and treats understanding someone’s view as the first step to connection.
What students practice
- Seeing one event through more than one pair of eyes
- Using practical tools to put yourself in someone else’s shoes
- Understanding what it is like to move to a new country
- Listening to resolve a conflict
- Comparing economic and environmental views
What’s inside
- 10 passages at F&P levels N–P, from compare-and-contrast to a civic community feature and a storm story
- 5 multiple-choice questions per passage
- 2 open-ended questions per passage for written answers or discussion
- Multiple-choice answer key for all 10 passages on one page
- 34 pages, including an overview of the passages with F&P levels and SEL focus
A look inside
- The Game Wasn’t Fair!: a compare-and-contrast passage on conflicting views of a shared game.
- A Letter from Grandpa: a first-person reflection on generational perspective.
- Inside the Mind of a Service Dog: a science text that uses non-human empathy as a bridge.
- Meet Ayaan: The Story of a School Translator: a profile of leadership through language and empathy.
- The Same Storm: a global citizenship piece on how a disaster looks different from different places.
How to use these perspective taking reading passages
- Guided reading groups at levels N–P
- Partner reading, with the open-ended questions as a talk prompt
- SEL reading comprehension: read “How to Put Yourself in Someone Else’s Shoes” and talk about its tools for seeing another view
- Independent practice or homework, checked with the answer key
Grade fit
These reading passages with questions are written for Grade 3, with levels rising from N to P. A kickball game, a grandparent’s letter and a city redesign give readers close-to-home and wider-world views, and the P-level civic and storm pieces ask more of confident readers.
Digital version
With the interactive digital version, you share one link and students read each passage and answer the questions on any device, with no student logins. At the end they download an answer sheet to hand in.
Pairs well with
After the reading, Perspective Taking Scenario Cards and Perspective Taking Worksheets carry the topic into a different format, with more perspective taking activities.
Questions teachers ask
Which reading levels does the Grade 3 perspective taking set cover?
The ten passages run from F&P level N to P. Text types include compare & contrast, how-to, first-person reflection, real-world student feature.
Is there an answer key?
Yes. The multiple-choice answers for all ten perspective taking passages sit together on one page. The open-ended questions have no fixed answer.
Can students read the perspective taking passages on a device?
Yes, through the digital version. You share one link and students open it on any device without logging in.
More for Social Awareness
See all in the library →Every resource, one library.
572 SEL resources for elementary classrooms — printables, digital activities and answer sheets, and every new one we add.
