How Sentences Connect is a free printable Grade 3 English worksheet on sorting linked sentences by cause and effect, comparison or sequence, aligned to Common Core standard RI.3.8. It prints 3 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 12 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

One paper per student

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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

How Sentences Connect

RI.3.8

NameDate

Sort each one into the right box.

1.Sort each one: Cause and effect or Comparison or Sequence?

Sort: Because the sails are angled, the wind pushes them round., In the fall the swallows fly south. The following spring they return., The smaller gear spins faster than the larger one., First the boat enters the lock. Next the lower gate closes., A dash is three times as long as a dot., The water comes down by gravity. That is why no pump is needed.

Cause and effectComparisonSequence

2.Sort each one: Cause and effect or Comparison or Sequence?

Sort: Swallows travel by day, but many other birds travel at night., The whey is drained off. After that, the curds are pressed., The gluten traps the gas, and as a result the dough swells., Raised letters were slow, while braille dots fit under one fingertip., A starter culture is added first. Then rennet is added., Nobody had looked after the violin, so the bridge came loose.

Cause and effectComparisonSequence

3.Sort each one: Cause and effect or Comparison or Sequence?

Sort: First the grain falls between the stones. Finally flour comes out at the edge., The insects disappear in October, so the swallows leave., A cheese aged for two years tastes nothing like one aged for two weeks., The top millstone turns; the bottom one does not., Braille was twelve when he saw the dots; three years later his code was finished., The heat sets the gluten, so the bubbles are locked in.

Cause and effectComparisonSequence

LessonPrint · RI.3.8 · Set 12 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — How Sentences Connect

Set 12. Prints on its own sheet.

1.1. A dash is three times as long as a dot. — Comparison 2. Because the sails are angled, the wind pushes them round. — Cause and effect 3. First the boat enters the lock. Next the lower gate closes. — Sequence 4. In the fall the swallows fly south. The following spring they return. — Sequence 5. The smaller gear spins faster than the larger one. — Comparison 6. The water comes down by gravity. That is why no pump is needed. — Cause and effect
2.1. A starter culture is added first. Then rennet is added. — Sequence 2. Nobody had looked after the violin, so the bridge came loose. — Cause and effect 3. Raised letters were slow, while braille dots fit under one fingertip. — Comparison 4. Swallows travel by day, but many other birds travel at night. — Comparison 5. The gluten traps the gas, and as a result the dough swells. — Cause and effect 6. The whey is drained off. After that, the curds are pressed. — Sequence
3.1. A cheese aged for two years tastes nothing like one aged for two weeks. — Comparison 2. Braille was twelve when he saw the dots; three years later his code was finished. — Sequence 3. First the grain falls between the stones. Finally flour comes out at the edge. — Sequence 4. The heat sets the gluten, so the bubbles are locked in. — Cause and effect 5. The insects disappear in October, so the swallows leave. — Cause and effect 6. The top millstone turns; the bottom one does not. — Comparison

More practice for RI.3.8

Name how one sentence or paragraph connects to the next.

Teaching this next? How Sentences and Paragraphs Connect is the 40-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 3 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RI.3.8 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.