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Cause, Sequence and Time Language

A 40-minute Grade 3 lesson on describing relationships in a text using language that pertains to time, sequence and cause.

Cause, Sequence and Time Language is a free 40-minute Grade 3 English lesson plan for Common Core standard RI.3.3 — explain how events or steps connect, using time and cause words. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the meaning, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.

Grade:
Grade 3
Length:
40 minutes
Standard:
RI.3.3

Grade 3 · Reading: Informational Text

RI.3.3

Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.

Objective

Students will be able to describe how two events in an information text are related, choosing a time, sequence or cause word that the text actually supports.

Students are successful when they can

  • Sorts connectives into time, sequence and cause, and knows some fit two piles.
  • Links two events from the text with a connective the text supports.
  • Uses "because" or "so" only when the text says one event made the other happen.
  • Puts cause before effect correctly when writing a cause sentence.

What you need

  • "The Flood at Millbrook" (four short paragraphs, below), displayed and one copy per pair
  • Fifteen connective cards: in 1880, later, meanwhile, during, first, next, then, after, finally, because, so, as a result, since, which caused, before
  • Three sorting mats labeled Time, Sequence, Cause
  • The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan

The lesson

Warm-up — sort the connectives

5 min
  1. Pairs sort the fifteen cards onto the Time, Sequence and Cause mats.
  2. Expected: Time — in 1880, later, meanwhile, during; Sequence — first, next, then, finally, before; Cause — because, so, as a result, which caused. "After" and "since" are the arguments worth having.
  3. Ask: "Where did you put since?" Show both uses: "Since 1902 the wall has stood" (time) and "Since it rained, the river rose" (cause). Some words live in two piles, and the sentence decides.

Teach — one pair, three relationships

13 min
  1. Read the text. Paragraph 1: "In 1880, the town of Millbrook was built beside a wide river. The river gave the town water and fish." Paragraph 2: "In the spring of 1902, heavy rain fell for nine days. The river rose over its banks and flooded the main street." Paragraph 3: "Because of the flood, the town built a high stone wall along the river. The next spring the river rose again, but the wall kept the water out." Paragraph 4: "In 1910, Millbrook opened a new school with six classrooms."
  2. Take two events: the flood and the wall. Write three sentences on the board. Time: "In 1902 the river flooded. Later, the town built a wall." Sequence: "First the river flooded, then the town built a wall." Cause: "The town built a wall because the river flooded."
  3. Ask: "Are all three true?" Yes — and point to "Because of the flood" in paragraph 3. The cause sentence is the most precise, because the text tells us WHY.
  4. Now take the flood and the school. Try the same three sentences. Ask: "Did the school open because of the flood?" Students search the text. Nothing says so. "After" is true; "because" would be invented.
  5. Write the rule on the board: "After = this came later. Because = this MADE that happen. Only use because when the text tells you."
  6. Test reversal: read "The river flooded because the town built a wall." Ask what is wrong. The cause and effect have swapped — the wall came after and could not have caused the flood. Check: the cause must happen first.
“"After" and "because" both put the events in order. Only "because" says the first one made the second one happen — so you need the text to tell you that before you are allowed to write it.”

Guided practice — three pairs

12 min
  1. Pairs write one sentence for each pair of events: (1) nine days of rain and the river rising; (2) the wall and the next spring's high water; (3) the town being built and the school opening.
  2. Expected: (1) cause — "The river rose because it rained for nine days" (or "so the river rose"); (2) cause — "The wall kept the water out, so the town stayed dry"; (3) time or sequence only — "Thirty years after the town was built, it opened a school."
  3. For each, pairs say aloud why one other kind of connective would be wrong or less precise. For pair 3: "Because would be wrong — nothing says the town being built made the school open."
  4. Take feedback on pair 3 first; it is where invented causes show up.
“Show me the words in the text that prove "because." If you cannot point to them, which word is the honest one?”

Independent practice

8 min
  1. Students complete the printable practice sheet: a passage with linked events and blanks for connectives.
  2. Remind them to check each "because" by putting a finger on the text words that prove it.

Close — the honest word

2 min
  1. Read: "The wall was built. The next spring the river rose again." Ask: "Did the wall make the river rise?" Take "No — it is after, not because" and the reason.

What goes wrong, and why

Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.

Writes "Millbrook opened a school because of the flood."

Why: When one event follows another in a text, the reader's mind joins them into a story, and stories run on causes. Order feels like explanation, so "after" quietly turns into "because."

Fix: Ask "Where does the text say the flood made the school happen?" and have the student point. When they cannot, offer "after" or "eight years later" as the honest word. Keep the rule on the board: only use because when the text tells you.

Links every pair with "then": "It rained, then the river rose, then they built a wall."

Why: "Then" is never wrong about order, so it feels safe. Students have learned that safe and correct are the same thing, and nobody has asked them to be precise.

Fix: Ask: "Did the rain just come before the rise, or did it cause it?" Show that "because it rained for nine days" tells the reader more than "then." Award the most precise true word, not the safest one.

Reverses it: "The river flooded because the town built a wall."

Why: Both events are in the sentence and both are connected to the river, so the student knows they are linked but not which way. The text did not label one as cause and one as effect.

Fix: Check the dates: the cause must come first. Say the sentence both ways aloud and ask which could really happen. Draw an arrow on the board from cause to effect: flood → wall.

If they are not there yet

  • Use only two mats, Sequence and Cause, with five cards each, before adding Time.
  • Give the two events already written on strips; the student chooses the connective card that joins them and points to the proof.
  • Provide the frame "___ happened because ___" alongside "___ happened after ___" and have the student decide which the text allows.

If they finish early

  • Find an event with two causes in a new sentence: "The river rose because it rained for nine days and the snow on the hills melted." Draw both arrows.
  • Write a cause chain of three links from the text: rain → flood → wall. Use a different cause connective for each link.
  • Write one sentence the text implies but does not state, such as why the town was built by the river, and explain why it needs "probably."

Exit ticket

Millbrook opened a school in 1910. The flood was in 1902. Write one sentence that links the flood and the school, using the most accurate connective. Then say why you chose it.

What to look for: "The school opened eight years after the flood" with a reason: nothing says the flood caused it. "Because": still reading order as cause. School first, then flood: not checking which came first. "Then" with no reason: safe word chosen, not precise one.

Printable practice for RI.3.3

Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.

Questions about Cause, Sequence and Time Language

How long does the Cause, Sequence and Time Language lesson take?

40 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 13 min, guided practice 12 min, independent practice 8 min, close 2 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.

Which standard does Cause, Sequence and Time Language teach?

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.3 — RI.3.3, Reading: Informational Text for Grade 3: “Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.” In plain terms, explain how events or steps connect, using time and cause words.

What do I need to teach this lesson?

"The Flood at Millbrook" (four short paragraphs, below), displayed and one copy per pair, fifteen connective cards: in 1880, later, meanwhile, during, first, next, then, after, finally, because, so, as a result, since, which caused, before, three sorting mats labeled Time, Sequence, Cause and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.

What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?

Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: writes "Millbrook opened a school because of the flood."; links every pair with "then": "It rained, then the river rose, then they built a wall." and reverses it: "The river flooded because the town built a wall.". The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.

How do I know whether the lesson worked?

The exit ticket asks: “Millbrook opened a school in 1910. The flood was in 1902. Write one sentence that links the flood and the school, using the most accurate connective. Then say why you chose it.” "The school opened eight years after the flood" with a reason: nothing says the flood caused it. "Because": still reading order as cause. School first, then flood: not checking which came first. "Then" with no reason: safe word chosen, not precise one. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.

Is there a worksheet to go with Cause, Sequence and Time Language?

Yes — 1 printable RI.3.3 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.

Is Cause, Sequence and Time Language free to use?

Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on October 8, 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.

Last reviewed 2026-10-08. Aligned to RI.3.3 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.