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 22 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 dash is three times as long as a dot., The gluten traps the gas, and as a result the dough swells., The smaller gear spins faster than the larger one., Braille was twelve when he saw the dots; three years later his code was finished., The salmon hatches, then swims to the sea, and later returns.

Cause and effectComparisonSequence

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

Sort: Before the upper gate opens, the water must reach the level above., Raised letters were slow, while braille dots fit under one fingertip., The whey is drained off. After that, the curds are pressed., Nobody had looked after the violin, so the bridge came loose., The salmon does not eat, so it grows thin on the climb., Like the swallow, the salmon returns to where it was born.

Cause and effectComparisonSequence

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

Sort: Because E is so common, it was given a single dot., A starter culture is added first. Then rennet is added., First the boat enters the lock. Next the lower gate closes., A cheese aged for two years tastes nothing like one aged for two weeks., Because the sails are angled, the wind pushes them round., The top millstone turns; the bottom one does not.

Cause and effectComparisonSequence

LessonPrint · RI.3.8 · Set 22 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — How Sentences Connect

Set 22. 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. 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 smaller gear spins faster than the larger one. — Comparison
2.1. Before the upper gate opens, the water must reach the level above. — Sequence 2. Like the swallow, the salmon returns to where it was born. — Comparison 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 salmon does not eat, so it grows thin on the climb. — Cause and effect 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. A starter culture is added first. Then rennet is added. — Sequence 3. Because E is so common, it was given a single dot. — Cause and effect 4. Because the sails are angled, the wind pushes them round. — Cause and effect 5. First the boat enters the lock. Next the lower gate closes. — 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.