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Reasons Behind the Claim is a free printable Grade 3 English worksheet on matching evidence to the point it supports, aligned to Common Core standard RI.3.8. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions, 18 of them with different questions, so no two pupils 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.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. 18 of these 25 sets ask different questions — this skill does not have 25 questions to give. The rest reorder them, so no two pupils have the same paper in front of them.

Reasons Behind the Claim

RI.3.8

NameDate

Read the text, then answer the questions.

1.Read the text, then answer the questions.

How a Canal Lock Works

A canal cannot run uphill. Where the land rises, engineers build a lock: a chamber with a gate at each end. A boat going uphill enters the lock through the lower gate. The gate closes behind it. Sluices in the upper gate are opened. Water flows in from the higher stretch of canal, and the boat rises with it. No pump is needed, because the water comes down by gravity. When the water inside matches the level above, the upper gate can be opened and the boat moves on. Going downhill, everything runs the other way: the water is let out, and the boat sinks with it.

  1. 1. The author says no pump is needed. What reason is given?
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.

How a Windmill Grinds Flour

A windmill turns moving air into turning stone. The sails are set at a slight angle. Because of that angle, wind pushing on them cannot pass straight through, so it pushes them round instead. The sails turn a horizontal shaft. A large wooden gear on that shaft meshes with a smaller one on an upright shaft, which turns the millstones below. Because the smaller gear has fewer teeth, it spins faster than the sails do. Four turns of the sails can mean twenty turns of the stone. The grain falls between two stones. The top stone turns; the bottom one does not. The grain is crushed between them, and flour comes out at the edge.

  1. 1. The author says the stone spins faster than the sails. What reason is given?

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

Answer key — Reasons Behind the Claim

Set 9. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. The water comes down from the higher stretch by gravity.
  2. 2.1. The smaller gear has fewer teeth.

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RI.3.8 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.