Sammi Huber

Cause and Effect 1. Introduce and Connect a. Tell the students to imagine that they woke up late on a school day. Ask them: What might happen if you woke up late for school? b. Give examples if they need guiding (You might miss the bus or get a tardy at school). c. Explain that waking up late is a CAUSE an event that makes something else happen. EFFECT the reself of the event. d. I woke up late cause e. I was late getting to school effect 2. Teach the skill a. Explain that some events happen in a chain of causes and effects. b. Remind students of the example of being late for school. c. Have them suggest what might happen next. d. Give examples: I missed a special guest speaker in class. e. Say, Remember that why something happens is the cause. What is the first cause in the chain? f. Explain that sometimes authors use clue words when they write about causes and effects. g. Say, When you see clue words like because, so, since, and as a result, you know the author is explaining causes and effects. h. Example: I woke up late on a school day, so I was late getting to school.

Sammi Huber

i.

Example: Because I was late getting to school, I missed seeing the special guest speaker.

3. Apply the skill in Context a. Hand out Bats and Their Amazing Ears b. Invite students to tell what they see in the paragraph. c. Read the first paragraph out loud. Think aloud: I can spot a cause and effect relationship. Model highlighting the effect (These bats are different from most animals). d. Have a student underline the cause (they use sound to find food.) Circle the clue word, because. e. Read aloud the second paragraph. f. Guide the students to identify a cuase and effect chain. Say, The sound bounce back to them as echoes is a cause. The effect is that the bats listen to the echoes. This affect causes another event. Because the bats listen to the echoes, they follow the echoes. They follow the echoes is the effect. g. Mark the causes and effects in the passage. Read allowed the third paragraph and continue to guide students to find cause and effects. h. Hand out the practice passage A Better Running Shoe and ask students to describe one reason that they like certain running shoes. i. Guide the class to find the first clue word (So) and the cause-and-effect relationship it shows.

Sammi Huber

j.

Have students pair read the passage and underline causes, highlight effects, and circle clue words.

k. Invite students to share examples of causes and effects from the passage.