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 15 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: Raised letters were slow, while braille dots fit under one fingertip., The whey is drained off. After that, the curds are pressed., Braille was twelve when he saw the dots; three years later his code was finished., The water comes down by gravity. That is why no pump is needed., A dash is three times as long as a dot., Nobody had looked after the violin, so the bridge came loose.

Cause and effectComparisonSequence

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

Sort: The salmon does not eat, so it grows thin on the climb., First the grain falls between the stones. Finally flour comes out at the edge., The salmon hatches, then swims to the sea, and later returns., Like the swallow, the salmon returns to where it was born., The top millstone turns; the bottom one does not., The gluten traps the gas, and as a result the dough swells.

Cause and effectComparisonSequence

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

Sort: Raised letters were slow to read, so Braille wanted something better., In the fall the swallows fly south. The following spring they return., Q is rare and long, whereas E is common and short., Swallows travel by day, but many other birds travel at night., A starter culture is added first. Then rennet is added., Because E is so common, it was given a single dot.

Cause and effectComparisonSequence

LessonPrint · RI.3.8 · Set 15 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — How Sentences Connect

Set 15. Prints on its own sheet.

1.1. A dash is three times as long as a dot. — Comparison 2. Braille was twelve when he saw the dots; three years later his code was finished. — Sequence 3. Nobody had looked after the violin, so the bridge came loose. — Cause and effect 4. Raised letters were slow, while braille dots fit under one fingertip. — Comparison 5. The water comes down by gravity. That is why no pump is needed. — Cause and effect 6. The whey is drained off. After that, the curds are pressed. — Sequence
2.1. First the grain falls between the stones. Finally flour comes out at the edge. — Sequence 2. Like the swallow, the salmon returns to where it was born. — Comparison 3. The gluten traps the gas, and as a result the dough swells. — Cause and effect 4. The salmon does not eat, so it grows thin on the climb. — Cause and effect 5. The salmon hatches, then swims to the sea, and later returns. — Sequence 6. The top millstone turns; the bottom one does not. — Comparison
3.1. A starter culture is added first. Then rennet is added. — Sequence 2. Because E is so common, it was given a single dot. — Cause and effect 3. In the fall the swallows fly south. The following spring they return. — Sequence 4. Q is rare and long, whereas E is common and short. — Comparison 5. Raised letters were slow to read, so Braille wanted something better. — Cause and effect 6. Swallows travel by day, but many other birds travel at night. — 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.