Cause & Effect Chart

This strategy helps students recognize cause and effect relationships. This strategy may be used to look at a series of events that are a result of one another or are caused by one another. The arrow from the cause to the effect reinforces that each cause brings about a related effect and all causes lead to the final effect. The example of a trail of dominoes being knocked over often helps students visualize this relationship.

v Step 1:

Students create two columns of boxes with arrows connecting the cause to the effect on their paper. (See sample strategy)

v Step 2:

Students fill in each box with the appropriate information (the cause or the effect). The teacher may sometimes give the students either the causes or the effects and as the students read, perform an experiment, view a film etc… they complete their strategy.

v Tip:

A cause is the reason that something happens. An effect is the result, or what happens because of the cause.

Cause - Why? Because…

Effect - What happens?