Cause and Effect (Targets LA07/IA17)
What is cause and effect?
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| Cause and effect is a relationship between two things.
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| When you read that one action or event is the result of another action or event, you are reading about a cause-and-effect relationship.
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| Likewise, when one event leads to another event, you have a cause-and-effect relationship.
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| A cause makes something happen.
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| The effect is what happens; it's the result.
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| Cause and effect relationships occur whenever one event makes other events happen.
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| Sometimes one event causes one other event.
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| Sometimes one event causes more than one event. Sometimes one event causes a series of events.
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| And sometimes there are many events that cause another event.
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Why do we need to know and identify cause and effect?
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| You use cause and effect every day when you solve problems and make decisions.
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| Learning to identify cause and effect relationships can help you understand what has happened and why it has happened.
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How can you help your students identify a cause and effect relationship?
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| Look for stated cause-and-effect relationships
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The cause always happens before the effect: something happens, which leads to a result. Sometimes the writer clearly states what makes something happen and why it happens. But the cause and effect do not have to be presented in order in the passage. The effect may be presented first, even though the cause occurred earlier. For example:
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| The North Pole has 24 hours of daylight on the first day of the summer, because the sun never drops below the horizon on that day.
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| Effect: the North Pole has 24 hours of daylight on the first day of summer.
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| Cause: the sun never drops below the horizon on that day
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| Look for unstated cause-and-effect relationships
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In some paragraphs, the cause-and-effect relationship is not directly stated. In these cases, you will have to infer or "read between the lines" to find the cause-and-effect relationship. Use clues from the paragraph to identify a cause-and-effect relationship.
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| To find the effect, ask yourself: "What happened?"
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| To find the cause, ask yourself: "Why did it happen?"
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| Look for signal words
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| Look for the signal words that show cause-and-effect relationships. Here are some common words that frequently signal cause and effect:
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| accordingly
| cause
| finally
| led to
| since
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| affect
| consequently
| for
| on account of
| so
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| as a result
| contributed to
| hence
| outcome
| therefore
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| because
| created by
| if … then
| reason
| thus
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| bring about
| effect
| in order that
| results in
| why
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| Look for verbs that express a cause and effect relationship.
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Sometimes you can discover a cause and effect relationship by paying attention to the verbs in the selection. Certain verbs are causative verbs and communicate a cause and effect connection. If you are unsure whether a verb is a causative verb, look it up in a dictionary to see whether the verb describes an effect on thing has on another. Here are some common causative verbs:
| allowed
| darken
| dissolve
| inflate
| produce
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| create
| demand
| energize
| lighten
| require
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| combine
| destroy
| expand
| make
| sharpen
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| Look for effects that are also causes
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Effects can form a chain in which one effect goes on to cause a second effect, which may then cause a third effect and so on. Here is an example:
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When people cut down trees to clear land, they destroy the habitats of birds. This reduces the number of nest sites. As a result, fewer baby birds are hatched, and the bird population declines.
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| Cause 1: People cut down trees.
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| Effect 1: The habitats of birds are destroyed.
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| Effect 2: The number of nest sites is reduced.
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| Effect 3: Fewer baby birds are hatched.
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| Effect 4: The bird population declines.
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LA07 WASL Stem Questions
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Multiple Choice Stems (1 Point)
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| Which sentence best describes (character’s) response to (character) in the story/selection/poem?
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| Why does (character) (action)?
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| Why does (character) decide to ________?
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| Which sentence explains why (event) happened in the story/selection/poem?
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| According to the story/selection/poem, what happens/happened when (action)?
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Short Answer Stem (2 Points)
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| Explain why (event) happened. Include two details from the story/selection/poem in your answer.
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Extended Response Stems (4 Points)
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| How did (character’s experience in story/selection/poem) influence (character’s growth or development)? Include three details from the story/selection/poem in your answer.
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| What problem does (character) experience in the story/selection/poem? What are three events that happen as a result of the problem? Include information from the story/selection/poem in your answer.
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| What problem does (character) experience in the story/selection/poem? What are three events that contribute to the resolution of the problem? Include information from the story/selection/poem in your answer.
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IA17 WASL Stem Questions
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Multiple Choice Stems (1 Point)
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| Which sentence best explains why (event) happened?
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| Why does (character/subject) (action)?
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| According to the selection, what happens when (action)?
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Short Answer Stems (2 Points)
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| Explain why (event) happened. Include two details from the selection in your answer.
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| What problems are associated with ________? Include one problem from each selection in your answer. (to be used with a pair)
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Extended Response Stems (4 Points)
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| What problem does (person) experience in the selection? What are three events that happen as a result of the problem? Include information from the selection in your answer.
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| What problem does (person) experience in the selection? What are three events that contribute to the resolution of the problem? Include information from the selection in your answer.
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