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 20 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: The insects disappear in October, so the swallows leave., A starter culture is added first. Then rennet is added., Q is rare and long, whereas E is common and short., First the grain falls between the stones. Finally flour comes out at the edge., Swallows travel by day, but many other birds travel at night., The heat sets the gluten, so the bubbles are locked in.

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., Like the swallow, the salmon returns to where it was born., Going downhill, a lock works the other way round from going uphill., After the yeast wakes up, it begins to feed on the sugars., First the boat enters the lock. Next the lower gate closes., The water comes down by gravity. That is why no pump is needed.

Cause and effectComparisonSequence

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

Sort: The salmon hatches, then swims to the sea, and later returns., Before the upper gate opens, the water must reach the level above., Raised letters were slow, while braille dots fit under one fingertip., The top millstone turns; the bottom one does not., Raised letters were slow to read, so Braille wanted something better., Because E is so common, it was given a single dot.

Cause and effectComparisonSequence

LessonPrint · RI.3.8 · Set 20 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — How Sentences Connect

Set 20. Prints on its own sheet.

1.1. A starter culture is added first. Then rennet is added. — Sequence 2. First the grain falls between the stones. Finally flour comes out at the edge. — Sequence 3. Q is rare and long, whereas E is common and short. — Comparison 4. Swallows travel by day, but many other birds travel at night. — Comparison 5. The heat sets the gluten, so the bubbles are locked in. — Cause and effect 6. The insects disappear in October, so the swallows leave. — Cause and effect
2.1. After the yeast wakes up, it begins to feed on the sugars. — Sequence 2. First the boat enters the lock. Next the lower gate closes. — Sequence 3. Going downhill, a lock works the other way round from going uphill. — Comparison 4. Like the swallow, the salmon returns to where it was born. — Comparison 5. The salmon does not eat, so it grows thin on the climb. — Cause and effect 6. The water comes down by gravity. That is why no pump is needed. — Cause and effect
3.1. Because E is so common, it was given a single dot. — Cause and effect 2. Before the upper gate opens, the water must reach the level above. — Sequence 3. Raised letters were slow to read, so Braille wanted something better. — Cause and effect 4. Raised letters were slow, while braille dots fit under one fingertip. — Comparison 5. The salmon hatches, then swims to the sea, and later returns. — Sequence 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.