Cause+and+Effect

Cause and Effect  Using the concept of "Cause and Effect" can be a very useful strategy for teaching. A Cause & Effect Graphic Organizer can be used on a consistent basis as a thinking map to help students organize information. Below is an example of a simple Cause & Effect Chart:



A Cause and Effect chart can be filled out with words and/or pictures depending on students' abilities or lesson objectives. Students can be creative with this as seen in the example below:

Defining "Cause and Effect:"

 Examples:
 * A Cause is something that makes something else happen
 * An Effect is what happens as a result of a cause

 Sometimes, connecting words should be used to help illustrate the Cause and Effect idea:
 * The girl pulled the cat's tail (Cause) and the cat growled (Effect)
 * The boy studied hard for his test (Cause) and he received a good grade (Effect)


 * because
 * so
 * therefore
 * then
 * since
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">as a result

Cause and Effect should be taught explicitly before being used in the classroom. However, it is a good tool for building reading comprehension, especially for EL students. This is because few words are needed. The entire Cause & Effect relationship can be understood with pictures only, if necessary.

Literature Link: Use "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" to teach or reinforce Cause & Effect. The entire story is based on causes and effects!

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