Adolescent Literacy Series: Cause, Effect, Solutions, and OutcomesBy Peg Grafwallner, Instructional Coach and Reading Specialist Our students are well aware of the cause and effect skill long before we have explicitly taught the skill in our classroom. As an example, one might say to a child, “it rained last night so the soccer game is canceled.” Cause? It rained last night. Effect? The soccer game is canceled. However, what might be new to our students is the phrase: cause and effect. Think of it this way, we teach cause and effect every time we demonstrate or describe the relationship between two things or illustrate how one event is the result of another. Cause and effect are a noteworthy foundational skill because it helps students to dig deep and look at the whys, not just the consequences. How many times do you begin sentences with “if” in your classroom? As an example, when teaching a geography unit about a region, you could pose this cause-effect scenario to your students; “if the wildfires out west continue, it may be difficult for animals to habit that area again.” Cause? Continuing wildfires. Effect? Animal habitats may be destroyed. If you were teaching a health class about nutrition, you might share this fact with your students; “if we ingest too much caffeine, research has shown it is difficult to sleep.” Cause? Too much caffeine. Effect? Sleep deprivation. We are using cause and effect statements every day in our classroom to show the relationship between events and processes where one causes the other. The foundational skill of cause and effect focuses on connections that students are able to make between the results and what caused those results. Teaching cause and effect can open up the conversation to more than just the consequence of the reason; it can inspire our students to learn more about issues they care about. Think about tackling a school issue or a social justice issue and giving your students the chance to learn more about the causes and effects of those issues making that opportunity even more real, relevant, and relatable. How to Teach Cause and Effect Step 1: Give your students an article; preferably informational text. For our modeling purposes, I chose CNN’s “Single use plastic is wreaking havoc on the planet. Here’s what you can do to minimize your impact.” If you think this article is too overwhelming for your students, consider modifying it to fit your audience by omitting unnecessary paragraphs. Step 2: Distribute the graphic organizer entitled, “Causes, Effects, Solutions, and Outcomes” to help students keep track of their thinking. Step 3: Ask students to read the article and annotate it. They can read the article in pairs or individually. Step 4: I recommend you model the first example utilizing the sentence starters. You will notice in my example, students are using textual evidence to prove their responses. Looking for textual evidence helps students to clear up any mis-readings. However, you can also take this opportunity to have your students practice paraphrasing. When students are able to paraphrase what they’ve read, it shows they understand the source well enough to write it in their own words. Here’s an example from the article:
Step 6: After students have completed the graphic organizer, give them an opportunity to discuss their responses utilizing their textual evidence. You might find students have various answers; give them the opportunity to explain how they arrived at their cause, effect, solution and outcome. Finally, give students a chance to dig deeper in this topic. As mentioned earlier, we use cause and effect statements every day in our classroom to show relationships. These topics can encourage our students to learn more about issues they care about or challenge them to inspire change. In this example, I used recycling as my topic; however, I recommend surveying students to learn about topics they find interesting. Consider using other sources such as NEWSELA, Science Daily, or HISTORY Classroom to create opportunities for a deep dive. The Benefits of Teaching Cause and Effect While our students are often confronted with cause-effect statements throughout their day, pausing to have in-depth learning about how to determine cause-effect statements and their relationships in text and in conversation is imperative for students to become better readers, writers, and thinkers. According to Ashle Bailey-Gilbreath, PhD Researcher at Ulster University (2015), “Cause-and-effect thinking, or causality, allows us to make inferences and reason about things that happen around us.” In the upcoming March 2023 edition of the AWSA Update Bulletin, I will focus on the foundational skill of inference which supports comprehension and critical thinking. As mentioned on my website, www.peggafwallner.com, “Inference is a higher-level critical thinking skill. Asking students to ‘read between the lines’ is a conceptual request, that for some, is difficult to grasp. Consider using the other skills that students have practiced – annotation, main idea/details, and summary to move toward inference.” Therefore, one can see how these skills are not used in isolation, but rather build upon each other for student growth. Bailey-Gilbreath goes on to say, “Causality helps us understand things as simple as ‘If I don’t water the plants they’ll die’ to things more complicated such as other people’s intentions and behaviors. When children understand cause and effect, they also begin to understand the operation of mechanisms, which allows them to understand causal relationships.” The value of comprehending causal relationships cannot be overstated; when students understand these relationships, they find meaning in events that might otherwise appear arbitrary or disorganized, and understanding causal relationships can help students plan and predict what comes next. In closing, while students may understand the cause-effect relationship, give them a chance to practice that skill in text and in their own research. Teaching cause-effect gives students the opportunity to master that skill by understanding and improving relationships and behaviors well beyond academics and the classroom. References: Bailey-Gilreath, A. (2015, December 3). “’Explain yourself’: A powerful strategy for teaching children cause-and-effect.” Learning and the Brain. https://www.learningandthebrain.com/blog/cause-and-effect/ Dictionary.com. (n.d.). Cause and effect. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/cause--and--effect. Grafwallner, P. Inference. https://www.peggrafwallner.com/strategies. History Classroom. https://www.history.com/classroom. Ramirez, R. (2022, September 27). Single-use plastic is wreaking havoc on the planet. Here’s what you can do to minimize your impact. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/16/us/plastic-recycling-climate-impact-lbg/index.html Science Daily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/. Clearing the Path for Developing Learners: Essential Literacy Skills to Support Achievement in Every Content Area (June 2023) Available for pre-order here. |