Cause and Effect Cause An event or action

Cause and Effect

Cause • An event or action that directly results in another event. Effect • The direct outcome of an event or action.

Cause and Effect • As you read, ask yourself, “What happens, and why? ” • Your answer to “What happens? ” is likely to be the effect in a causeeffect relationship. • Your answer to “Why is it happening? ” is likely to be the cause.

Cause and Effect Ex. Since the New England colonists found the soil too rocky for farming, they turned to the sea as a source of food and income. Effect What happens in -the colonists turn to the example? the sea as a source of (effect) food and income Cause Why is it -the colonists found happening? the soil too rocky for (cause) farming Click the boxes for answers!

Cause and Effect • Look for signal or clue words! • Certain clue words and phrases signal cause and effect relationships. • Words that signal a cause include: because, since, and due to. • Words that signal an effect include: led to, as a result, consequently, and therefore.

Cause and Effect Ex. Western states offered bounties to hunters who shot mountain lions. As a result, the big cats were hunted to near extinction. Signal: Do you see any signal - clue As aor result words? Is it a cause or an effect -effectclue word? Click the boxes for answers!

Cause and Effect • If the cause-and-effect relationship is not obvious, look deeper! • Sometimes writers do not state cause or effect directly. Instead, the relationship is implied. • So look for more clues, and make an inference! • Remember: An inference is when you make an educated judgment using prior knowledge and the text.

Cause and Effect Ex. Upstate, many farmers have watched their crops dry up and die. Towns have banned lawn watering and car washing. Even so, many water districts are unable to maintain minimum water pressure during the day. Cause What is the - Water districts are cause? to(why is it unable maintain happening) water pressure Effect -Crops are dying, towns What is the effect? have banned lawn (what is happening) watering and car washing Click the boxes for answers!

Cause and Effect • Think about multiple causes and effects! • More than one cause can contribute to a single effect. • More than one effect can stem from a single cause.

Cause and Effect Ex. A powerful earthquake struck San Francisco in 1906, starting fires that burned much of the city. In all, more than 2000 people died. Effect. What is the -fires burning the city effect? (what is and 2, 000 deaths happening) Cause What is the -the earthquake cause? (why is it happening) Click the boxes for answers!

• Read the following paragraph, and be prepared to answer questions! In 2004, California’s Mojave Desert became part of space history. The first private spacecraft ever was launched there. A jet plane hauled Space Ship One nine miles high. So, the craft didn’t need huge fuel tanks. Once in the air, it fired its rockets and climbed 71 miles high. After a few minutes in space, Space Ship One headed back to the desert. On the way down, its wings flipped up 90 degrees. That slowed the craft for a soft landing.

1. What caused the Mojave Desert to become part of space history? The first private spacecraft ever was Click the box for an example answer! launched there. 2. Why didn’t Space Ship One need huge fuel tanks? Click the box for an example answer! A jet plane hauled it nine miles high. 3. What was the effect of flipping up the craft’s wings? That slowed the craft down for a Click the box for an example answer! landing.

Cause and Effect • Let’s read the short passage, “Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree. ” • Think about cause and effect while we read.

Excerpt from “Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree” by Susan Freinkel To celebrate Arbor Day yesterday, President Bush added a new tree to the White House grounds—an American chestnut. At first glance it may seem an odd choice, since chestnuts have been largely absent from the American landscape for more than half a century. Yet if any species can help us see the importance of trees to humanity, it is the American chestnut, and its story makes it the perfect emblem for Arbor Day. Chestnuts were once so plentiful along the East Coast that according to legend a squirrel could travel the chestnut canopy from Georgia to Maine without ever touching the ground. The trees grew tall, fast and straight. Many considered it the perfect tree: It produced nourishing food and a rot resistant wood that was used for everything from furniture to fence posts…. Then in the early 20 th century a deadly fungus imported from Japan hit American forests.

Excerpt from “Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree” (continued) Within 40 years this fast and merciless fungus spread over some 200 million acres and killed nearly four billion trees. The blight brought the chestnut to the brink of extinction. Even today, new sprouts continue to shoot up from the roots of seemingly dead trees only to be attacked again by the fungus before they can flower and reproduce. The American Chestnut Foundation has been patiently interbreeding the American chestnuts with its blight-resistant Asian cousins to come up with a hybrid that looks like an American chestnut, but fights the fungus Asian-style. The foundation says it hopes to have its first crop of blight-resistant nuts ready by next year for trial planting in forests. The White House chestnut tree is one of these hybrids. There are good economic and environmental reasons for bringing back the chestnut: It’s a fast-growing source of good timber, a boon for wildlife, and an efficient way to draw carbon and pollutants out of the atmosphere. But many of the people I have met would save the chestnut simply for its own sake, as a welcome companion.

• Paragraph 1: What cause or reason is given for why the chestnut seemed like an odd choice of tree to plant at the White House? Chestnuts have been largely absent Click the box for anlandscape example answer! for half a from the American century. Paragraph 2: What multiple causes are given for why the chestnut was often considered the perfect tree? They produced nourishing food; they Click the box for an example answer! were rot-resistant; they grew tall, straight, and fast.

• Paragraph 3: What multiple effects did the fungus cause It killed four billion trees; it spread over the box forit an example answer! the 200 million. Clickacres; brought chestnut to the brink of extinction. Paragraph 4: What might you infer about a possible effect of planting the fungus-resistant hybrid chestnut at the White House? The White House tree will popularize the new hybrid; it will encourage people Click the box for an example answer! to plant chestnuts in their yards and parks.

Underline the cause in these sentences. 1. Mrs. Scott couldn’t drive Ida to school because the roads were too slippery. 2. My bicycle was stolen yesterday when I forgot to lock it downtown. 3. Few people came to the festival; so a lot of food was leftover. 4. We haven’t had rain for three weeks; as a result, the seeds still haven’t sprouted. 5. The deer in the park have no fear of people because hunting has always been prohibited there.

Underline the cause in these sentences. 1. Mrs. Scott couldn’t drive Ida to school because the roads were too slippery. 2. My bicycle was stolen yesterday when I forgot to lock it downtown. 3. Few people came to the festival; so a lot of food was leftover. 4. We haven’t had rain for three weeks; as a result, the seeds still haven’t sprouted. 5. The deer in the park have no fear of people because hunting has always been prohibited there.

Underline the effect in these sentences. 6. Jack’s arm has been in a cast since he broke it playing football in October. 7. The captain rationed our water supply; as a result, we managed to survive. 8. I’ve never earned a penny from my inventions because most of them are impractical. 9. Tony failed his math test due to the fact that he never even opened his math textbook. 10. I lost track of time at the amusement park, so I missed the last train home.

Underline the effect in these sentences. 6. Jack’s arm has been in a cast since he broke it playing football in October. 7. The captain rationed our water supply; as a result, we managed to survive. 8. I’ve never earned a penny from my inventions because most of them are impractical. 9. Tony failed his math test due to the fact that he never even opened his math textbook. 10. I lost track of time at the amusement park, so I missed the last train home.