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Common Core ELA3rd GradeReading: Informational

RI.3.8: Explain How Sentences and Paragraphs Connect

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.8 · Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas.

All 42 3rd Grade ELA Standards

The Official Wording

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, Grade 3, Reading: Informational Text · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What RI.3.8 Means in Plain English

Third graders explain how one sentence or paragraph links to the next: does it compare, give a cause and its effect, or add the next step? A passage on Venus and Earth opens with how they are alike, then turns on the word “But” to how they differ.

In second grade (RI.2.8), students described how reasons support an author’s points. Third grade looks at the links between sentences and paragraphs and the words that signal them. Fourth grade (RI.4.8) returns to reasons and evidence, explaining how they support particular points.

RI.3.8 I Can Statements

  • I can tell when a paragraph compares two things.
  • I can find words that show how sentences connect.
  • I can explain how one paragraph links to the next.

RI.3.8 Worked Example

Three paragraphs with a different link between each, and the weak answer retells the facts without naming a single link.

Read the Story
Venus and Earth are sometimes called twins. Both are rocky planets, and they are almost the same size.But the twins are very different. Venus is wrapped in thick clouds that trap the sun’s heat. Because of this, Venus is hotter than Mercury, even though Mercury is closer to the sun.Venus also spins much more slowly than Earth. Earth turns all the way around once a day, but one turn of Venus takes about 243 Earth days. That is longer than its whole trip around the sun.
A short passage written for this page.
Question: How is the second paragraph connected to the first? How is the sentence that begins “Because of this” connected to the sentence before it?
Not Yet“The first paragraph is about Venus and Earth. The second paragraph is about Venus being hot.”It says what each part is about but never how the parts connect. The words “But” and “Because of this” go unnoticed.
Meets the Standard“The first paragraph tells how Venus and Earth are alike: both are rocky and almost the same size. The second paragraph starts with ‘But’ and turns to how they are different, so the two paragraphs make a comparison. Inside it, ‘Because of this’ shows cause and effect: the thick clouds trap heat, and that is why Venus is hotter than Mercury.”The student names each connection, first comparison and then cause and effect, and points to the exact words that signal it.
Question Stems to Use
How does this paragraph connect to the one before it?Is the author comparing, giving a cause and effect, or telling steps in order?Which word signals the change? Circle it.What does “this” in “because of this” point back to?Why do you think the author put this paragraph here?

Common Mistakes with RI.3.8

Retelling instead of connecting

“Paragraph 1 is about twins. Paragraph 2 is about heat.”

Try this: Have students write the connection on the line between two paragraphs, as one word: compare, cause, effect or next.

Missing the turn word

Students read “But the twins are very different” as more about how the planets are alike

Try this: Circle signal words like but, also, because of this and first before discussing meaning, and ask what each one tells the reader to expect.

Losing what “this” refers to

“Because of this” read as “because Venus is a twin”

Try this: Ask students to replace “this” with the words it stands for and read the sentence again to check that it makes sense.

Where RI.3.8 Fits

Comes BeforeRI.2.8Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text.
AlongsideRI.3.3Describe how events, ideas or steps connect, using time, sequence and cause words.W.3.2Write to inform, linking ideas with words such as also, another, and, more and but.
Comes NextRI.4.8Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text.RI.4.5Describe the overall structure of a text or part of it: time order, comparison, cause and effect or problem and solution.

Practice RI.3.8

Quick Check

  1. How are Venus and Earth alike?
  2. Which word at the start of the second paragraph shows the author is turning to differences?
  3. Why is Venus hotter than Mercury, even though Mercury is closer to the sun?

RI.3.8: Other Names

RI.3.8CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.8

Common Core State Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Official wording from the Common Core State Standards PDFs at corestandards.org, last checked October 14, 2026. The explanation, I can statements, example, mistakes and practice on this page are EMStudio’s own, written beside the official wording. They are not part of the standard.