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 16 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: First the grain falls between the stones. Finally flour comes out at the edge., Because the sails are angled, the wind pushes them round., Q is rare and long, whereas E is common and short., A cheese aged for two years tastes nothing like one aged for two weeks., A starter culture is added first. Then rennet is added., The insects disappear in October, so the swallows leave.

Cause and effectComparisonSequence

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

Sort: The heat sets the gluten, so the bubbles are locked in., The water comes down by gravity. That is why no pump is needed., Swallows travel by day, but many other birds travel at night., The whey is drained off. After that, the curds are pressed., The top millstone turns; the bottom one does not., In the fall the swallows fly south. The following spring they return.

Cause and effectComparisonSequence

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

Sort: A dash is three times as long as a dot., The gluten traps the gas, and as a result the dough swells., First the boat enters the lock. Next the lower gate closes., The smaller gear spins faster than the larger one., Braille was twelve when he saw the dots; three years later his code was finished., Because E is so common, it was given a single dot.

Cause and effectComparisonSequence

LessonPrint · RI.3.8 · Set 16 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — How Sentences Connect

Set 16. Prints on its own sheet.

1.1. A cheese aged for two years tastes nothing like one aged for two weeks. — Comparison 2. A starter culture is added first. Then rennet is added. — Sequence 3. Because the sails are angled, the wind pushes them round. — Cause and effect 4. First the grain falls between the stones. Finally flour comes out at the edge. — Sequence 5. Q is rare and long, whereas E is common and short. — Comparison 6. The insects disappear in October, so the swallows leave. — Cause and effect
2.1. In the fall the swallows fly south. The following spring they return. — Sequence 2. Swallows travel by day, but many other birds travel at night. — Comparison 3. The heat sets the gluten, so the bubbles are locked in. — Cause and effect 4. The top millstone turns; the bottom one does not. — 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
3.1. 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. Braille was twelve when he saw the dots; three years later his code was finished. — Sequence 4. First the boat enters the lock. Next the lower gate closes. — Sequence 5. The gluten traps the gas, and as a result the dough swells. — 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.