Some tips for teaching cause and effect that worked for my 6th graders

 Did you ever think you knew what your kids could do and they surprised you?  That happens to all of us at times and you're probably pleasantly surprised when they do better than you think. 

That's one of the best feelings!

Not so good when it's the other way around.  

Several years ago, I pre-tested my kids on Cause and Effect.  Sixth graders, this should be simple, right?  

I was surprised when about a quarter of my students struggled to pull the cause or the effect out of a one-page essay.  So, it was time to teach it and create something they could work on and share in class, with me making sure they truly got it.

Here are some things that I've tried.

A Cause and Effect Scavenger Hunt

If you can trust your students to walk around the school quietly, that's fun to try.  If not, do it in your classroom or as a center activity.  

I did this outside of my classroom some years, not others.  I sent 6 students out at a time, each with a partner, and going in different directions.  They walked around the school for 10 minutes looking for causes and effects in the building.  Before anyone walked out the door, we had a talk about behavior and responsibility!  They understood that their behavior determined whether other students could do it, too.  

When they returned, they were surprised at how many causes and effects they found!  It was so much easier than they'd expected.  Which made them that much more willing to go digging into text.  

But by the next day, I could see they were struggling again when reading a passage I'd written about the Dust Bowl, so I started meeting with them in small groups.  And discovered that the passage could be interpreted in several different ways.  And a couple of students struggled with vocabulary, so they weren't sure how to proceed.

Back to the Drawing Board

I rewrote parts of the passage and then created another version that was easier to read.  This time, YAY! They had a much easier time.

Would you like to take a look at what I did?  You can get this for free when you join my email community.  Or you can buy it from my TeachersPayTeachers store.

•  This is the newest resource in my TpT store and it focuses and Cause and Effect.  It's a high-interest story about a female pirate most students have never heard of!  (I hadn't before my son told me about her.)

Students read the passage and then walk around the room where you have hung questions or placed them on the floor.  They can work alone or with partners.  After writing down all the answers, there's a mystery word they must come up with!