Cause and Effect Worksheet

• 3rd grade
• CCSS RI.3.3
• CCSS RI.3.8
• CCSS RL.3.3

A free, printable cause and effect worksheet for 3rd grade. Your child reads a short passage, fills in cause and effect boxes and builds a chain. Answer key included.

What's inside

• Page 1: a passage about a storm, then 4 cause and effect pairs.
• Page 2: match 5 causes to effects and finish a chain.
• Page 3: answer key.

Download the PDF (3 pages)

How to use it

1. Teach or review the rule first with the cause and effect lesson. It takes about 10 minutes.
2. Read the directions for each part out loud. Early readers can point while you read.
3. Check Part A together before your child goes on, so any confusion gets fixed early.
4. Use the answer key on the last page.

Prints on US Letter paper (8.5 × 11 in). No sign-up needed.

Tips for doing it together

• Keep it short. One page a day is plenty for most young children, and two short sessions beat one long one.
• Let your child read each sentence out loud before answering. Many mistakes get caught by ear.
• Mark a mistake with a small dot instead of an X, and let your child find and fix it. That's where the learning happens.

What your child is practicing

A cause is why something happens; an effect is what happens. Kids use signal words like because, so and as a result, and remember that the cause happens first.

Practice online

After the worksheet, the 10-question cause and effect quiz gives instant feedback and reads each question aloud. For a game, try Word Slash.

More reading comprehension worksheets

• Fables and their lessons worksheet (2nd–3rd grade)
• Main idea worksheet (2nd–4th grade)
• Author's purpose worksheet (2nd–4th grade)
• Point of view worksheet (2nd–5th grade)

Last reviewed: November 11, 2026