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Following a Technical Explanation is a free printable Grade 3 English worksheet on holding a chain of causes together while reading, aligned to Common Core standard RI.3.10. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask 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.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Following a Technical Explanation

RI.3.10

NameDate

Read the text, then answer the questions.

1.Read the text, then answer the questions.

Why Swallows Leave

Swallows do not leave Britain because of the cold. They leave because of the insects. A swallow eats flying insects, and it catches them in the air. In October the insects disappear, and a bird that eats nothing else has to follow the food. So swallows fly to southern Africa: about six thousand miles, taking roughly six weeks. They travel by day and feed as they go. They lose about a third of their body weight on the way. Many do not arrive. The following spring they return, and a swallow will often nest in the very barn it hatched in.

  1. 1. Why does the text mention that many swallows do not arrive?
  2. 2. Explain the cause and effect between October and the swallows leaving.
  3. 3. Put these in order: the swallows return, the insects disappear, the swallows fly south.
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.

Why Bread Rises

Yeast is alive. It is a fungus, and each grain of dried yeast holds millions of cells waiting for water. Add warm water and the cells wake up. They begin to feed on the sugars in the flour. As they feed, they give off carbon dioxide gas. The gas cannot escape, because kneading the dough has built a stretchy web of gluten that traps it. Thousands of tiny bubbles form, and the dough swells. In the oven, two things happen. The trapped gas expands in the heat, so the loaf rises further. Then the heat kills the yeast and sets the gluten, and the bubbles are locked in place. That is why bread has holes in it.

  1. 1. Explain the cause and effect between kneading and the holes in bread.
  2. 2. Put these in order: the gluten sets, the yeast feeds, the gas expands.
  3. 3. What would happen to dough with no gluten in it?

LessonPrint · RI.3.10 · Set 16 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Following a Technical Explanation

Set 16. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. To show how hard the journey is, after giving the distance and the weight loss. 2. In October the flying insects disappear, so the swallows, which eat nothing else, must follow the food south. 3. The insects disappear, the swallows fly south, the swallows return.
  2. 2.1. Kneading builds the gluten web, which traps the gas in bubbles, and the heat locks those bubbles in as holes. 2. The yeast feeds, the gas expands, the gluten sets. 3. The gas would escape, so the dough would not swell and the bread would be flat.

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RI.3.10 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.