Reading for Cause/Effect | Middle / High School Student Success

The idea behind cause and effect can be summed up by the statement “One thing leads to another.” Understanding cause and effect, and the relationship between them, can make your child or teen a better reader. Try these suggestions.

Understand Cause/Effect

Cause and effect work together; you can’t have one without the other. That’s why it’s very important to be able to distinguish between the two.

Cause: an action or an event that makes something happen or produces an effect.
Effect: a change produced by an action or event.

It is important to keep track of cause and effect when reading novels, short stories and literature. For example, when reading The Hobbit, you should think about why Bilbo’s courage increased over the course of his great adventure.

Also, textbooks often attempt to explain either the cause or effect of some action. For example, history textbooks explain the causes of important events like the American Revolution. Similarly, science texts explain how one (or more) actions can effect people, animals, places, and the environment.

Ask Yourself Some Questions

When thinking about cause and effect, ask yourself some questions.

Finding the cause generally answers the question why something happened: At a young age, your teacher may have asked you, “Why did Goldilocks go into the three bears’ home?”
Determining the effect generally requires you to answer the question what happened after an event took place (“What happened because Goldilocks went into the three bears’ home?”).

Look for Events, Actions, and Results

If you are having trouble connecting causes and effects, look for significant events or actions (causes) and then figure out what happened as a result (effect).

For example, in the sentence, “Since Coach Kerr began leading the baseball team, they have won more games.”

The cause is: Coach Kerr began leading the baseball team.

The effect is: The team has won more games.

Watch for Signal Words

When reading, paying attention to cause and effect requires a lot of attention, diligence and mental effort. For those of us who struggle with our attention, it may be helpful to pay attention to words that signal a cause/effect connection:

Accordingly

As a result of

Because

Begins with

Consequently

Due to

Effects of

Finally

For this reason

Hence

How

If…then

In order to

Is caused by

It follows

Leads/led to

Resulting from

Since

So that

Therefore

Thus

When…then

Whether

For Causes, Look for “Because” Phrases

Phrases that start with because, since, due to, and other similar words can give you a clue about causes when you are asked “Why?” questions.

Because he continued to disrupt the class, Jimmy was sent to the principal’s office.

For Effects, Look for “Therefore” Phrases

To recognize effects, look for phrases that start with therefore, consequently, or resulted in,

Jimmy’s constant talking back to his teacher resulted in him being sent to the principal’s office.

Track Multiple Causes and Effects Using a Graphic Organizer

In textbooks and novels, there may be multiple causes for one effect, multiple effects for one cause, or multiple causes and multiple effects. In these situations, it may be helpful to use a structured fish-bone graphic organizer to organize the causes and effects as you are reading: the causes go on the fish bones and the effects go on the head of the fish.

Apply Cause and Effect to Real Life

Understanding cause and effect is an important skill not only for reading comprehension, but also for your daily life. To analyze the events happening around you, you must be able to understand why those events happened—what caused them, identify the impact, and then decide how to reduce the impact.

For example, if you get distracted by TV from your homework, you won’t do your best, you will suffer from poor grades. You may need to decide to either study away from the TV, use the DVR, or build time into your schedule for getting your homework done before watching your favorite shows.

Similarly, to make decisions or evaluate the decisions of others, you must be able to consider the effects of a possible decision. “Reading” not only texts, but also events and situations, requires you to understand cause and effect.

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One Thing Leads to Another: Reading for Cause and Effect

The idea behind cause and effect can be summed up by the statement “One thing leads to another.” Understanding cause and effect, and the relationship between them, can make your child or teen a better reader. Try these suggestions.

Understand Cause/Effect

Cause and effect work together; you can’t have one without the other. That’s why it’s very important to be able to distinguish between the two.

Cause: an action or an event that makes something happen or produces an effect.

Effect: a change produced by an action or event.