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

How a Windmill Grinds Flour

A windmill turns moving air into turning stone. The sails are set at a slight angle. Because of that angle, wind pushing on them cannot pass straight through, so it pushes them round instead. The sails turn a horizontal shaft. A large wooden gear on that shaft meshes with a smaller one on an upright shaft, which turns the millstones below. Because the smaller gear has fewer teeth, it spins faster than the sails do. Four turns of the sails can mean twenty turns of the stone. The grain falls between two stones. The top stone turns; the bottom one does not. The grain is crushed between them, and flour comes out at the edge.

  1. 1. What would happen if the sails were flat rather than angled?
  2. 2. Explain the cause and effect between the small gear and the speed of the stone.
  3. 3. Put these in order: the millstones turn, the sails turn, the gears mesh.

LessonPrint · RI.3.10 · Set 24 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Following a Technical Explanation

Set 24. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. The insects disappear, the swallows fly south, the swallows return. 2. In October the flying insects disappear, so the swallows, which eat nothing else, must follow the food south. 3. To show how hard the journey is, after giving the distance and the weight loss.
  2. 2.1. The wind would pass straight through and they would not turn. 2. Because the smaller gear has fewer teeth, it spins faster, so the stone turns faster than the sails. 3. The sails turn, the gears mesh, the millstones turn.

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