Reading
Lesson Plan


Cause and Effect

Learning Objective:
 Identify cause and effect structures within nonfiction texts.

Teacher Directions:
Cause and effect relationships occur whenever one event makes other events happen. Sometimes one event causes one other event. Sometimes one event causes more than one event. Sometimes one event causes a series of events. And sometimes there are many events that cause another event.

Let’s use the following diagrams to analyze causes and effects of events in your life and of events from the EverestQuest expedition.

Use the Chart* to display causes and effect from your life. In column one, list an event that caused one significant other event in your life. This is the cause. In column two, list the event that resulted. This is the effect. Here’s an example:

Cause: When I was a child, I was carelessly jumping up on a windowsill on our back porch.
Effect: My arm went through the window and was cut. I had to get about ten stitches.

Use the Chain of Events* diagram to display an event that ended up causing a series of events to occur. Write the initial event in the first box. Then use the sequence of boxes to show the series of events that then occurred. Here’s an example:

Box 1: I joined the gymnastics team.
Box 2: I practiced three times a week.
Box 3: I struggled with my vault routine on my first meet.
Box 4: I asked for more help from my coaches.
Box 5: I got the highest score ever on my vault routine.

Use the Venn* diagram to show how two seemingly unrelated events caused other events. Write one event in the left circle. Write the other unrelated event in the right circle. Write the event that resulted in the shared area. Here’s an example:

Event 1: I went to a city park for a family picnic.
Event 2: It unexpectedly rained.
Effect: We decided to go to the Science Museum and learned that there was a special dinosaur exhibit that just came to town. We had a great time.

Use the Problem/Solution* diagram to display a situation where one event caused several simultaneous events that then also caused other events. In the “Problem” box, list the initial event. In the boxes called “Solution 1-4,” write three or four events that were the result of the initial event. Then use the “Result” boxes, to show events that resulted from those events. If there was one end result, write that in the box titled “End Result.” Don’t feel that you need to use all of the boxes. Here’s an example:

Problem: I had to do a school report with three other students and we were having a hard time agreeing on the topic and on how to split up responsibilities.
Solution 1: One of us could take charge.
Solution 2: We could vote.
Solution 3: We could sit down and discuss; and then vote.
Solution 4: We could discuss until we come up with a plan that we all agree with.
Result: If one of us just takes charge, or if we vote, we might not all agree and not work as hard.
Result: If we all agree, we most likely will work harder.
End Result: If we don’t work hard, we might not do too well on the report. If we work hard and work together, we most likely will do better on the report.

Now use the same diagrams to analyze cause and effect events in the EverestQuest expedition journals. Decide which diagram best fits the cause and effect situations you find. Here are some tips:

  • Look for titles of journals that imply that there might be some cause and effect relationships. For example, there must be some cause and effect relationships in the journal #11: Jim Wickwire’s Departure.
  • When you read the journals, look for words that give clues to cause and effect relationships such as: since, as a result, because, until, before and after.
  • Sometimes the cause and effect relationships are not spelled out. You need to make inferences or make some intelligent guesses based on what you read in the journals. For example, look at this selection from Journal #8:
    “After a quick breakfast of sweet tea and soup, we needed to deal with the crevasse. The oldest Tibetan, who could have been 40 — or 60 — years old, chose the most likely ice bridge and climbed down, calling his three yaks to follow behind him.”

    Even though it is not stated, you can probably infer that they had several ice bridges to choose from at the point of the crevasse.

Resources:
All Journals (listed in Reading Trails)

Activity Sheet:
Chart*
Chain of Events*
Problem/Solution*
Venn*

Assessment:
Use the Comprehension section of the Reading Assessment* sheet.

* pdf document (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, available free from Adobe)

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