Cause & Effect
RC 2.6
ELA Standards
4th Grade
What is Cause & Effect?
• Cause is why something happens.
• Effect is what happens as a result.
Example
• I ate an entire pizza for dinner, so now
my stomach hurts.
Cause – Ate too much pizza
Effect – Stomach ache
• Sam couldn’t find his shoes, so he was
late for school.
Cause – couldn’t find shoes
Effect – late for school
• Disneyland is giving away free tickets
if you volunteer to work a day for free
in your community.
Cause – work a day for free
Effect – free tickets
• The elephant was able to escape
because the gate to the enclosure was
left open.
Cause – the gate was left open
Effect – elephant escaped
• Mia had a pet rabbit, but it ate all of the
vegetables in her mother’s garden.
Cause – had a rabbit
Effect – ate the garden
More Practice
What could be the cause?
• You’re grounded
• Your received $100
• You made the swimming team
What could be the effect?
• You studied extra hard
• You reached your AR goal
• You mowed lawns all summer
Remember
Cause is why
something
happens.
Effect is what
happens as a
result
Game
Loren left his book on his desk,
so he was unable to finish his
homework.
Cause
Effect
Stacy’s flowers died because
she forgot to water them for a
week.
Cause
Effect
The kids at Cinnamon earned a
carnival because they worked
hard on their STAR tests.
Cause
Effect
My dad gave me $50 for getting
straight A’s on my report card.
Cause
Effect
It snowed last night so school
was canceled today.
Cause
Effect
Read Aloud
Story Elements
How did the story begin?
• Moose wanted a muffin.
Then what happened?
• He wanted jam to go with it.
And because he wanted jam, what
happened next?
He wanted…
Writing
If You Give An
Elephant a Peanut
Sentence 1
Cause – Gave an elephant a peanut…
Effect – What will happen?
Write – If you give an elephant a peanut,
he will want
Sentence 2
Cause –
Effect –
Write –
Sentence 3
Cause –
Effect –
Write –
Sentence 4
Cause –
Effect –
Write –
Sentence 5
Cause –
Effect –
Write –
Sentence 6
Cause –
Effect –
Write –
Conclusion
Bring it back to the first sentence you
wrote.
Cause –
Effect –
Write –
Resources
Library Books
• If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura
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• If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura
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