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 24 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: Q is rare and long, whereas E is common and short., The water comes down by gravity. That is why no pump is needed., The salmon does not eat, so it grows thin on the climb., Like the swallow, the salmon returns to where it was born., First the boat enters the lock. Next the lower gate closes., In the fall the swallows fly south. The following spring they return.

Cause and effectComparisonSequence

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

Sort: The gluten traps the gas, and as a result the dough swells., Because E is so common, it was given a single dot., The top millstone turns; the bottom one does not., After the yeast wakes up, it begins to feed on the sugars., Going downhill, a lock works the other way round from going uphill., A starter culture is added first. Then rennet is added.

Cause and effectComparisonSequence

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

Sort: Because the sails are angled, the wind pushes them round., Braille was twelve when he saw the dots; three years later his code was finished., The whey is drained off. After that, the curds are pressed., 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., Raised letters were slow, while braille dots fit under one fingertip.

Cause and effectComparisonSequence

LessonPrint · RI.3.8 · Set 24 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — How Sentences Connect

Set 24. Prints on its own sheet.

1.1. First the boat enters the lock. Next the lower gate closes. — Sequence 2. In the fall the swallows fly south. The following spring they return. — Sequence 3. Like the swallow, the salmon returns to where it was born. — Comparison 4. Q is rare and long, whereas E is common and short. — 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
2.1. A starter culture is added first. Then rennet is added. — Sequence 2. After the yeast wakes up, it begins to feed on the sugars. — Sequence 3. Because E is so common, it was given a single dot. — Cause and effect 4. Going downhill, a lock works the other way round from going uphill. — Comparison 5. The gluten traps the gas, and as a result the dough swells. — Cause and effect 6. The top millstone turns; the bottom one does not. — Comparison
3.1. A cheese aged for two years tastes nothing like one aged for two weeks. — Comparison 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. Nobody had looked after the violin, so the bridge came loose. — Cause and effect 5. Raised letters were slow, while braille dots fit under one fingertip. — Comparison 6. The whey is drained off. After that, the curds are pressed. — Sequence

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.