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

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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., A starter culture is added first. Then rennet is added., Nobody had looked after the violin, so the bridge came loose., A cheese aged for two years tastes nothing like one aged for two weeks., 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 whey is drained off. After that, the curds are pressed., Going downhill, a lock works the other way round from going uphill., The salmon hatches, then swims to the sea, and later returns., The gluten traps the gas, and as a result the dough swells., A dash is three times as long as a dot., The insects disappear in October, so the swallows leave.

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

Sort: After the yeast wakes up, it begins to feed on the sugars., Raised letters were slow, while braille dots fit under one fingertip., Because the sails are angled, the wind pushes them round., Raised letters were slow to read, so Braille wanted something better., The smaller gear spins faster than the larger one., Braille was twelve when he saw the dots; three years later his code was finished.

Cause and effectComparisonSequence

LessonPrint · RI.3.8 · Set 21 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — How Sentences Connect

Set 21. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 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. First the grain falls between the stones. Finally flour comes out at the edge. — Sequence 4. Nobody had looked after the violin, so the bridge came loose. — Cause and effect 5. Swallows travel by day, but many other birds travel at night. — Comparison 6. The heat sets the gluten, so the bubbles are locked in. — Cause and effect
  2. 2.1. A dash is three times as long as a dot. — Comparison 2. Going downhill, a lock works the other way round from going uphill. — Comparison 3. The gluten traps the gas, and as a result the dough swells. — Cause and effect 4. The insects disappear in October, so the swallows leave. — Cause and effect 5. The salmon hatches, then swims to the sea, and later returns. — Sequence 6. The whey is drained off. After that, the curds are pressed. — Sequence
  3. 3.1. After the yeast wakes up, it begins to feed on the sugars. — Sequence 2. Because the sails are angled, the wind pushes them round. — Cause and effect 3. Braille was twelve when he saw the dots; three years later his code was finished. — Sequence 4. Raised letters were slow to read, so Braille wanted something better. — Cause and effect 5. Raised letters were slow, while braille dots fit under one fingertip. — Comparison 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.