Cause and Effect
Background Information & Activities

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Encourage children to be active readers. They should take notes, ask questions, make predictions and inferences, and identify causes and effects as they read. This movie will explore cause and effect and share different examples. It will also identify a few signal words and phrases that can help readers identify causes and effects in text.

Review with children that a cause is why an event happens. The effect is an event that happens because of a cause. For example, slamming the door might cause a loud noise. Brainstorm different examples together. You may want to name a cause and have children identify an effect and vice versa. What can cause you to wake up late? What is the effect of walking in the rain? Discuss together.

Remind children that one event can cause a chain of events to happen. For example, forgetting to set an alarm clock can cause you to wake up late, which means you might be late to school, which can cause you to get in trouble with the teacher. Discuss other examples together. Also explain to children that one event can have many causes. For instance, staying up late the night before and forgetting to set an alarm clock can both cause you to wake up late. Likewise, one event can have multiple effects. What are the effects of arriving late to school? Have children brainstorm different effects.

Encourage children to take notes about causes and effects as they read. They can use graphic organizers such as a cause and effect chart to help them organize their ideas. We recommend reading a piece of writing together and model taking notes in a graphic organizer. Remind children that authors often use key words or phrases that can give clues about causes and effects. If, then, so, so that, since, because, due to, and as a result are phrases that can indicate causes and effects. Write a sentence such as "Mia lost her library books. As a result, she has to pay a fine." Have children pick out the cause (losing library books) and the effect (paying a fine). Then have children make up their own causes about why Mia lost her library books.

Cause and effect relationships can be challenging for some children to identify as they read. Encourage them to ask questions during and after reading. What made a character act a certain way? What happened because the character did something? What happened when the character did something? Children should pause while they read and think about the text. Encourage them to read actively and engage with the text.

See more lesson plans and resources: BrainPOP Educators.

Cause and Effect Teacher Activities

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Bad, Bad Day

Have students make up their own stories about a bad, bad day. You may want to re-watch the first part of the movie where Annie explains what happened during her bad day. Students can write their stories down or tell them to each other or to the whole class. Then have other students point out the causes and effects in the stories. They can write their ideas down in a cause and effect chart, or you can write on the board so that everyone can complete the chart together.

What's the Cause?

In a hat or box, write different effects on separate slips of paper. For example you may write "getting wet," "breaking an arm," "spilling a glass of milk," or "feeling surprised." Then have students pick an effect from the hat and discuss or write a possible cause. Have small groups share their causes and effects together. Then distribute one cause or effect slip to each student. Set a timer for one minute and see if each child can find the correct person to complete a corresponding cause and effect pair. When every child has found his or her match, read the causes and effects aloud and discuss. Can the class identify which person in each pair has the cause and who has the effect?

Cause and Effect Family Activities

© 1999-2012 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

What Happens Next?

Start a story about a character who goes on an adventure where one event causes another. For example, you might start a story about a character that finds a time machine: "One day Moby found a time machine. He turned it on, and as a result, he…." Then have your child finish the sentence with the effect. After that, have him or her ask you to finish the next part of the story. Encourage your child to use and listen for signal words and phrases such as "as a result" or "due to" to help him or her consider the cause/effect relationships. You and your child may want to draw or take notes as you tell the story together.

If…Then

Play a game that explores causes and effects. Start off by modeling a sentence using the "if…then" construction. For example, "If I throw a ball, then it will fly across the backyard." You may even want to demonstrate it! Then have your child create his or her own "if…then" sentence. After each sentence, discuss the cause and effect. Try playing the game again later on while cooking together. How many “if…then” statements can your child construct while helping you make a simple meal?