Steps, Causes, and Effects
Aligned to RI.3.3 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
What this lesson teaches
In a true text, things often happen in order or because of each other. Sequence words and cause/effect words show how they connect.
Worked examples
Example 1
'Because the sun warmed the pond, the ice melted.' The warm sun is the cause, and the melted ice is the effect.
Example 2
'The town flooded because the levee broke.' The broken levee is the cause; the flood is the effect.
Example 3
Order is not the same as cause. The rooster crows and then the sun rises, but the rooster did not cause the sunrise.
Practice questions
- Put three steps of a process in the right order.
- Find a cause and its effect in a text.
- Use 'because' to connect two events you read about.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Pasos, Causas y Efectos
En un texto real, las cosas suelen pasar en orden o por causa de otras. Las palabras de secuencia y de causa y efecto muestran cómo se conectan.
Ejemplo 1: 'Como el sol calentó el estanque, el hielo se derritió.' El sol caliente es la causa y el hielo derretido es el efecto.
Ejemplo 2: 'El pueblo se inundó porque el dique se rompió.' El dique roto es la causa; la inundación es el efecto.
Ejemplo 3: El orden no es lo mismo que la causa. El gallo canta y luego sale el sol, pero el gallo no causó el amanecer.
More Reading: Informational lessons
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