Cause and Effect in Nonfiction

3rd Grade ELAInformational Text3 pages

About this worksheet

Two matching sets of six on this 3-page 3rd grade sheet ask students to link causes and effects from science and history. In the first, a river rushing over rocks forms a canyon, a seed grows roots, and the Wright brothers' engine gets their airplane into the air. The second set joins sentence halves with signal words like so, because, since, and as a result. A final line asks for one new sentence with because or so. It covers RI.3.3 and RI.3.8, and the answer key gives both sets.

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Cause and Effect in Nonfiction: Informational Text - page 1

Cause and Effect in Nonfiction: Informational Text - page 2

Cause and Effect in Nonfiction: Informational Text - page 3

Curriculum objectives covered

RI.3.3

“Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.”

The first set, where students connect causes and effects in science events like a canyon forming and in a historical event, the Wright brothers' first flight.

RI.3.8

“Describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison, cause/effect, first/second/third in a sequence).”

The second set, which uses signal words such as so, because, as a result, first, and finally to join sentences in a logical way.

What's inside this worksheet

Connecting Causes and Effects

Students write a letter to match six causes, such as heavy rain on a steep dirt hill or a lizard on a dark rock, to their effects. The first match is filled in.

Sequence and Signal Words

Six sentence starters, such as "Since the baker forgot to add sugar,..." and "First, you dig a small hole in the dirt." pair with endings that make sense.

Write a Cause and Effect Sentence

Students pick one pair from the first set and write it as a new sentence with because or so.

How teachers use it

Signal word hunt

Circle so, because, since, as a result, and finally in the second set before students match. The signal word usually tells them whether to look for a cause or an effect.

Card match

Cut the first table into 12 cards and let small groups match them on the carpet. It takes about 10 minutes and gets everyone saying why.

Writing extension

Since the last sentence is short, ask for two versions, one that starts with the cause and uses so, and one that starts with the effect and uses because.

More 3rd Grade ELA worksheets

Reading Comprehension Writing Grammar and Language Vocabulary

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