Cause and Effectby Miss Ruhlen

A cause is what makes something happens. To find the cause, you need to ask yourself , “What happened first?”.An effect is what happens because of something else (the cause). To find the effect, you need to ask yourself, “What happened second?”.

The boy was grounded because he was on red at school.

What happened first? The boy was on red at school. (This is the cause)

What happened second? The boy was grounded. (This is the effect)

There are signal words that will help you to identify the two parts of a cause/effect relationship. The most common signal words are: because, if, when, so, then.Mark was grounded because he wasn’t on green at school.

In the sentence above, the word because signals a cause-effect relationship.

Now, let’s try to identify some cause-effect relationships. Remember, the cause is the first part of a cause-effect relationship and the effect is the second part.Identify the cause in the following sentence.

It got dark because the sun went down.

Identify the cause in the sentence below.

My sister was scared of the mouse, so she yelled for help.

Identify the effect in the sentence below.

When the light said, “Walk,” the man crossed the street.

Sometimes you will have to read further on in the passage to find the cause. It is important to read slowly and carefully to notice both the cause and its effect.

Read “Chubby Pup” to find out what makes Pete chubby.

Chubby PupMy parents and I were worried about our little dog, Pete. He

did not want play anymore. He did not want to chase the ball. He did not want to chase the ball. Pete was too tired. He just wanted to sleep. We took him to the pet doctor.

As the doctor checked him, Pete wagged his tail. Then he curled up to take a nap. “Pete is just fat!” the doctor said. “Are you giving him too much food?”

“No,” we answered. “We are feeding him good dog food twice a day.”

The doctor did not know what was wrong. “Try this special dog food,” she said. We took Pete home and tried the new food, but he just grew fatter.

One day, I was picking up fruit that had fallen from our avocado tree. Some of the avocados looked strange. The dark, green peels had been ripped open. Part of the inside of each fruit was gone. I knew how Pete had gotten fat! I laughed out loud. Then I ran to tell my parents the good news.

Read the questions and select the correct answer.

1. Why are Pete’s owners worried?a. Pete will not eat.b. Pete will not play.c. Pete is not growing.d. Pete is not sleeping.

Read the questions and select the correct answer.

2.The doctor says to try special dog food because ____________ .a. she thinks Pete will like itb. Pete will not play.c. Pete is not growing.d. Pete is not sleeping.

Read the questions and select the correct answer.

3. Pete’s owner knows what happens when he sees____________ .a. Pete eating avocadosb. Pete sleeping under the treec. avocados that have been eatend. holes in the avocado tree

Read the questions and select the correct answer.

4. Pete grew fat from ___________ .a. eating too many avocadosb. sleeping too muchc. eating too much dog foodd. not chasing the ball