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 13 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: Going downhill, a lock works the other way round from going uphill., After the yeast wakes up, it begins to feed on the sugars., The insects disappear in October, so the swallows leave., The water comes down by gravity. That is why no pump is needed., First the grain falls between the stones. Finally flour comes out at the edge., Raised letters were slow, while braille dots fit under one fingertip.

Cause and effectComparisonSequence

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

Sort: The whey is drained off. After that, the curds are pressed., Because the sails are angled, the wind pushes them round., A dash is three times as long as a dot., Because E is so common, it was given a single dot., In the fall the swallows fly south. The following spring they return., The top millstone turns; the bottom one does not.

Cause and effectComparisonSequence

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

Sort: Before the upper gate opens, the water must reach the level above., The salmon does not eat, so it grows thin on the climb., A cheese aged for two years tastes nothing like one aged for two weeks., The smaller gear spins faster than the larger one., Braille was twelve when he saw the dots; three years later his code was finished., Nobody had looked after the violin, so the bridge came loose.

Cause and effectComparisonSequence

LessonPrint · RI.3.8 · Set 13 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — How Sentences Connect

Set 13. Prints on its own sheet.

1.1. After the yeast wakes up, it begins to feed on the sugars. — Sequence 2. First the grain falls between the stones. Finally flour comes out at the edge. — Sequence 3. Going downhill, a lock works the other way round from going uphill. — Comparison 4. Raised letters were slow, while braille dots fit under one fingertip. — Comparison 5. The insects disappear in October, so the swallows leave. — Cause and effect 6. The water comes down by gravity. That is why no pump is needed. — Cause and effect
2.1. A dash is three times as long as a dot. — Comparison 2. Because E is so common, it was given a single dot. — Cause and effect 3. Because the sails are angled, the wind pushes them round. — Cause and effect 4. In the fall the swallows fly south. The following spring they return. — Sequence 5. The top millstone turns; the bottom one does not. — Comparison 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. Before the upper gate opens, the water must reach the level above. — Sequence 3. Braille was twelve when he saw the dots; three years later his code was finished. — Sequence 4. Nobody had looked after the violin, so the bridge came loose. — Cause and effect 5. The salmon does not eat, so it grows thin on the climb. — Cause and effect 6. The smaller gear spins faster than the larger one. — 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.