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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.

How a Canal Lock Works

A canal cannot run uphill. Where the land rises, engineers build a lock: a chamber with a gate at each end. A boat going uphill enters the lock through the lower gate. The gate closes behind it. Sluices in the upper gate are opened. Water flows in from the higher stretch of canal, and the boat rises with it. No pump is needed, because the water comes down by gravity. When the water inside matches the level above, the upper gate can be opened and the boat moves on. Going downhill, everything runs the other way: the water is let out, and the boat sinks with it.

  1. 1. Put these in order: the upper gate opens, the lower gate closes, the sluices open.
  2. 2. Explain the cause and effect between the sluices and the boat.
  3. 3. Why must the lower gate be closed before the sluices are opened?
2.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. Why does the text mention that many swallows do not arrive?
  3. 3. Explain the cause and effect between October and the swallows leaving.

LessonPrint · RI.3.10 · Set 6 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Following a Technical Explanation

Set 6. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. The lower gate closes, the sluices open, the upper gate opens. 2. Opening the sluices lets water flow in, which causes the water level and the boat to rise. 3. Otherwise the water would run straight out of the chamber instead of raising the boat.
  2. 2.1. The insects disappear, the swallows fly south, the swallows return. 2. To show how hard the journey is, after giving the distance and the weight loss. 3. In October the flying insects disappear, so the swallows, which eat nothing else, must follow the food south.

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