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 9 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: Before the upper gate opens, the water must reach the level above., A starter culture is added first. Then rennet is added., Because E is so common, it was given a single dot., A dash is three times as long as a dot., Q is rare and long, whereas E is common and short., Nobody had looked after the violin, so the bridge came loose.

Cause and effectComparisonSequence

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

Sort: The salmon hatches, then swims to the sea, and later returns., The whey is drained off. After that, the curds are pressed., The top millstone turns; the bottom one does not., Raised letters were slow to read, so Braille wanted something better., A cheese aged for two years tastes nothing like one aged for two weeks., 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: Like the swallow, the salmon returns to where it was born., First the grain falls between the stones. Finally flour comes out at the edge., The heat sets the gluten, so the bubbles are locked in., The salmon does not eat, so it grows thin on the climb., Swallows travel by day, but many other birds travel at night., In the fall the swallows fly south. The following spring they return.

Cause and effectComparisonSequence

LessonPrint · RI.3.8 · Set 9 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — How Sentences Connect

Set 9. Prints on its own sheet.

1.1. A dash is three times as long as a dot. — 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. Before the upper gate opens, the water must reach the level above. — Sequence 5. Nobody had looked after the violin, so the bridge came loose. — Cause and effect 6. Q is rare and long, whereas E is common and short. — Comparison
2.1. A cheese aged for two years tastes nothing like one aged for two weeks. — Comparison 2. Raised letters were slow to read, so Braille wanted something better. — Cause and effect 3. The salmon hatches, then swims to the sea, and later returns. — Sequence 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. First the grain falls between the stones. Finally flour comes out at the edge. — 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. 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 salmon does not eat, so it grows thin on the climb. — Cause and effect

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.