Following a Chain of Causes is a free printable Grade 4 English worksheet on holding a multi-step causal chain together, aligned to Common Core standard RI.4.10. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask 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 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
A coral reef looks like rock and is built by animals.
A coral polyp is a soft creature the size of a pinhead. It draws calcium from the sea water and builds a hard cup around itself. Millions of polyps, cup upon cup, become a reef.
Inside each polyp live tiny algae. The algae make food from sunlight and pass most of it to the polyp. In exchange they get shelter and the polyp's waste. Neither could build a reef alone.
When the water gets too warm, the polyps expel the algae. Without them the coral turns white and starves. That is what bleaching means.
A reef takes centuries to build and can bleach in a single hot summer.
1. Summarise this text.
2. Put these in order: the coral turns white, the water warms, the polyps expel the algae.
3. Explain the relationship between the polyp and the algae.
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.
Why Clocks Agree
Until the 1840s, every British town kept its own time, set by the sun. Noon in Bristol was about ten minutes after noon in London.
That was no problem while the fastest thing on the road was a horse.
The railways changed it. A timetable cannot work if every station measures noon differently, and trains sharing a track need to agree about when.
So the railway companies imposed London time on their whole network. People called it railway time. Some towns kept two minute hands on the town clock for years, one local and one railway.
In 1880 Parliament made a single time legal across the country. The sun had been overruled by the timetable.
1. Put these in order: Parliament makes it law, towns keep two minute hands, railways impose London time.
2. Summarise this text.
3. Explain the relationship between the railways and standard time.
LessonPrint · RI.4.10 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Following a Chain of Causes
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Coral reefs are built by pinhead-sized polyps that make calcium cups and live in partnership with algae, and warm water breaks that partnership and bleaches the reef. 2. The water warms, the polyps expel the algae, the coral turns white. 3. The algae make food from sunlight and give most of it to the polyp; the polyp gives them shelter and its waste. Neither builds a reef alone.
2.1. Railways impose London time, towns keep two minute hands, Parliament makes it law. 2. Every British town kept its own sun time until railway timetables made that impossible, so railway companies imposed London time and Parliament made it law in 1880. 3. Timetables and shared track needed every station to agree about when, so the companies imposed London time.
Questions about Following a Chain of Causes
What does the Following a Chain of Causes worksheet cover?
It practises holding a multi-step causal chain together — 2 questions for Grade 4, all on Common Core RI.4.10: Read and understand Grade 4-5 information texts by the year's end. The instruction to pupils is “Read the text, then answer the questions”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which Common Core standard does Following a Chain of Causes practise?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.10 — RI.4.10, in the Reading: Informational Text domain for Grade 4. The published standard reads: “By the end of year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, in the grades 4-5 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Following a Chain of Causes is written for Grade 4, typically ages 9-10. It is one of the sheets on RI.4.10, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Following a Chain of Causes come with an answer key?
Yes. All 2 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of Following a Chain of Causes can I print?
25 — one per pupil, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.
Is Following a Chain of Causes free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Following a Chain of Causes, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
More practice for RI.4.10
Read and understand Grade 4-5 information texts by the year's end.