Cause and Effect Relationships
In this starter pack tutorial for beginners, learners will be able to learn to identify “Cause and Effect relationship”. How to write a sentence that states the “Cause and Effect”. Why is it important to match properly the cause to its effect.
This lesson educates the students to figure out the cause and effect relationships when reading.
I. Objectives: At the end of the lesson the students will:
1. Identify cause and effect relationship
2. Write a sentence that states the cause and effect
3. Match the cause to its effect
II. Subject Matter: Cause and Effect Relationship
Selection: A Bad Day At The Office
Materials: Practice exercises/ Activity Sheets
III. Learning Experiences
A. Pre- Activity/ Warm up
1. Unfreezing Song
B. Activity Proper
1. Unlocking of difficulty
Match the words to its phrases:
- company a. full of energy, vigorous
- energetic b. refuse to work
- employees c. commercial business
- custodian d. person employed for wages
- strike e. guardian or keeper
2. Reading of the motive question
“Why the president is having a bad day at the office?
3. Reading of the Selection:
A Bad Day At The Office
Mr. Blaine is the president of the Acme Internet Company. The company has a staff of energetic employees. Unfortunately, all of the employees are out today. Nobody is there. As a result, Mr. Blaine is doing everybody’s job, and he’s having a very bad day at the office!
He’s answering the telephone because the receptionist who usually answers it is at the dentist’s office. He’s typing letters because the secretary who usually types them is at home in bed with the flu. He’s sorting the mail because the office assistant who usually sorts it is on vacation. And he’s even cleaning the office because the custodian who usually cleans it is on strike.
Poor Mr. Blaine! It’s a very busy day at the Acme Internet Company, and nobody is there to help him. He’s having a very bad day at the office!
4. Comprehension Check
Who is the president of the Acme Internet Company?
Where are the employees of the Acme Internet Company?
What happened to the secretary who types the letters?
What about the custodian who usually cleans the office?
Why Mr. Blaine is having a bad day at the office?
5. Discussion
1. Make a T Chart on the board and list causes and effects of events as they happened in the story
2. Discuss the examples of the cause and effect on the T-chart and brainstorm the students’ possible cause and possible effects.
3. Explain that a cause is the first thing that happens, and the effect is what happens because of the cause, the outcome or result. You can remind the students that it is like a story, the character does something that then makes something else happen. It would not make sense if “they lived happily ever after” came before, “the prince rescued the princess.”
4. Ask a volunteer to tell the cause why Mr. Blaine is having a very bad day at the office and its effects.
5. Repeat for the second example but reverse the order; ask for the effect first, then the cause.
6. Practice Exercise/ Group Activity
(Please see Group Activity sheets)
7. Generalization
How do you identify the cause and effect?
The cause is the first thing that happens, and the effect is what happens because of the cause, the outcome or result.
Write it on the board and have the class read then in groups and then by selected students.
IV. Evaluation
Directions: Identify if the underlined phrase is a cause or an effect, write your answer on the space provided for.
__________1. We turned up the heat since it was getting cold.
__________2. Tommy and Matthew are good friends because they have many common interests and hobbies.
__________3. Anna practiced math during summer vacation, therefore, she finds math easy.
__________4. I fell off my bike and scraped my knee.
__________5. Our apartment is on the 11th floor, therefore, we have a great view of the city.
__________6. Because I helped my mother, she was able to finish her work quickly.
M.L. ____
I.D. ____
V. Assignment
Read each sentence. Determine the cause and underline it once and determine the
effect and underline it twice.
1. I got a tummy ache when I ate too much ice cream.
2. Anne had cake for dessert because it was her birthday.
3. Thomas was feeling sleepy because he stayed up late doing his homework.
4. Dee was hungry, so her mother made her a cheese sandwich.
5. Kevin went to the eye doctor because he couldn’t see well.
VI. Remediation/ Enrichment
For slow learners’ students you can give this practice exercise below.
Direction: Underline the cause once and twice for the effect.
1. Tim forgot his math book, so he was unable to complete his homework.
2. Keegan was hungry because he skipped lunch.
3. Erin’s car had a flat tire, so she called a tow truck.
4. Gina couldn’t find the cookies because Papa hid them in the cupboard.
5. Kelly studied her spelling words and she got an A on the test.
VII. Reinforcement
For higher functional students you can give similar exercises below.
Directions: Fill in a positive and negative effect for each cause:
1. Marcus and Pat did not have a lot of shopping money
Positive: ____________________________________________________
Negative: ___________________________________________________
2. In three weeks, the winter holiday break will begin
Positive: ____________________________________________________
Negative: ___________________________________________________
3. Many department stores are having special sales
Positive: ____________________________________________________
Negative: ___________________________________________________
4. The snow began falling earlier this year than last year
Positive: _____________________________________________________
Negative: ____________________________________________________
5. Some families have large dinners with many people.
Positive: ____________________________________________________
Negative: ___________________________________________________
Practice Exercises/ Group Activity Sheets
Group Activity 1
Match each cause on the left with an effect on the right.
Cause Effect
1. ______ Baby Lisa began to cry. a. She played in the sand.
2. ______ It was raining outside. b. He got a belly ache.
3. ______ The phone rang. c. Lance flew his kite.
4. ______ Nana plants seeds in the garden. d. He fell and scraped his knee.
5. ______ My lawn mower was out of gas. e. He ate dinner.
6. ______ Someone came to the door. f. The dog began to bark.
7. ______ It is a windy day. g. He had nothing to wear.
8. ______ The boy tripped on a rock. h. Mom gave her a bottle.
9. ______ Robert ate too many jellybeans. i. She answered it.
10. ______ Carmen practiced kicking the ball. j. I couldn’t cut the grass.
11. ______ All the clothes were dirty. k. She won her soccer game.
12. ______ Lee’s mom took her to the beach. l. I shoveled the driveway.
13. ______ Tyler was hungry. m. Flowers began to grow.
14. ______ It snowed outside. n. We couldn’t get in the car.
15. ______ Mom locked the car door. o. We pulled out an umbrella.
Group Activity 2
Write the cause and effect for each sentence.
1. Tim forgot his math book, so he was unable to complete his homework.
Cause: ________________________________________________________
Effect: _______________________________________________________
2. Keegan was hungry because he skipped lunch.
Cause: _______________________________________________________
Effect: _______________________________________________________
3. Erin’s car had a flat tire, so she called a tow truck.
Cause: ________________________________________________________
Effect: _________________________________________________________
4. Gina couldn’t find the cookies because Papa hid them in the cupboard.
Cause: ________________________________________________________
Effect: _________________________________________________________
5. Kelly studied her spelling words and she got an A on the test.
Cause: _________________________________________________________
Effect: _________________________________________________________
6. Janice didn’t eat her breakfast quickly, so she missed the school bus.
Cause: _________________________________________________________
Effect: _________________________________________________________
Group Activity 3
Directions: Read the effect and write your own cause for each sentence.
1. Cause: _______________________________________________
Effect: Halley tripped and fell down.
2. Cause: _______________________________________________
Effect: I won first prize in the fishing contest.
3. Cause: _______________________________________________
Effect: The tomato plants died.
4. Cause: _______________________________________________
Effect: The light wouldn’t turn on.
5. Cause: _______________________________________________
Effect: The kitten couldn’t find its way home.
6. Cause: _______________________________________________
Effect: Everyone had turkey for dinner.
7. Cause: _______________________________________________
Effect: The baby started to cry.
8. Cause: _______________________________________________
Effect: I got sick.
9. Cause: ________________________________________________
Effect: We couldn’t get in the car.
10. Cause: _______________________________________________
Effect: She answered it.
For more readings
- How to agree and disagree in English using short answers
- The difference between “a little” and “little”
- The Difference between A FEW and FEW in English
- When to use “a little” and “a few”: English Grammar Rules
- Compound Words: English Vocabulary
- The difference between MUST and HAVE TO
If you have any questions or suggestions about Cause and Effect Relationships, please feel free to leave a comment below or send us a message using our contact page.
