CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.8

ELA3rd GradeIntegration of Knowledge and Ideas

The Standard

Describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison, cause/effect, first/second/third in a sequence).

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Reading Standards for Informational Text

What This Standard Means

Students need to explain how one sentence or paragraph connects to another in an informational text. They should notice when an author is comparing ideas, showing cause and effect, or putting events or steps in order.

Mastery looks like a student pointing to two parts of a text and saying, “This part explains why that happened,” or “These paragraphs compare two animals.” Students often get stuck naming the connection, especially when signal words are missing or when a paragraph includes more than one relationship.

Ways to Teach It

Give pairs a short article cut into paragraphs, then have them sort and label the connections with cards: compare, cause/effect, sequence.
Ask students to write: “How does paragraph 2 connect to paragraph 3? Use one sentence from the text to prove it.”
Use three sentence pairs on a half sheet, and have students label each connection as compare, cause/effect, or sequence.
Show a recipe, weather report, or animal fact page, then ask students where the writer uses order, causes, or comparisons.