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Exploring Cause and Effect Using Expository Texts About Natural Disasters

Classroom Resource Information

Title:

Exploring Cause and Effect Using Expository Texts About Natural Disasters

URL:

http://readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/exploring-cause-effect-using-925.html?tab=3#tabs

Content Source:

ReadWriteThink

Type:

Lesson/Unit Plan

Overview:

Expository texts are a key component of literacy but often do not get introduced to students until the later grades. This lesson helps third- through fifth-grade students explore the nature and structure of expository texts that focus on cause and effect. Students begin by activating prior knowledge about cause and effect; the teacher then models discovering these relationships in a text and recording in a graphic organizer the relationships that the class finds. Students work in small groups to apply what they learned using related books and then write paragraphs outlining the cause-and-effect relationships they have found.

Content Standard(s):

English Language Arts ELA2021 (2021) Grade: 3	24. Identify the text structures within literary and informational texts. a. Explain how the structures, including comparison and contrast, sequence of events, problem and solution, and cause and effect, contribute to the meaning of the text, using textual evidence. Unpacked Content Teacher Vocabulary: 24. Identify Text structures Literary text Informational text 24a. Text structures Comparison and contrast Sequence of events Problem and solution Cause and effect Contribute Textual evidence Knowledge: 24. Students know: Literary and informational texts follow predictable structures. 24a. Compare means tell how things are similar, and contrast means tell how things are different. Sequence of events is the chronological order of events within a text. Problem and solution text structure describes a problem and how the problem was solved or could be solved. Cause and effect text structure describes an event (the cause) and the consequence or result of the event (the effect). They have to use quotations from the text to prove their answers. Skills: 24. Students are able to: Identify the text structure of literary texts. Identify the text structure of informational texts. 24a. Explain how text structures contribute to the meaning of the text. Provide textual evidence to support their explanation. Understanding: 24. Students understand that: Identifying the text structure of literary and informational texts will set a purpose for their reading and improve their comprehension. 24a. Texts follow a predictable structure that contributes to the overall meaning of the text. They can demonstrate their comprehension of a text by using textual evidence to support their explanations.
English Language Arts ELA2021 (2021) Grade: 3	38. Compose and develop a well-organized paragraph with a topic sentence, details to support, and a concluding sentence. Unpacked Content Teacher Vocabulary: 38. Compose Develop Well-organized paragraph Topic sentence Details Concluding sentence Knowledge: 38. Students know: A well-organized paragraph has a topic sentence, supporting details, and a concluding sentence. Skills: 38. Students are able to: Write a well-organized paragraph that consists of a topic sentence, supporting details, and a concluding sentence. Understanding: 38. Students understand that: A well-written paragraph includes a topic sentence to introduce the topic, provides supporting details to explain the topic, and ends with a concluding sentence.
English Language Arts ELA2021 (2021) Grade: 4	23. Evaluate how text features and structures contribute to the meaning of an informational text. a. Identify and describe the structures within a text, including description, comparison and contrast, sequence, problem and solution, and cause and effect. b. Interpret information from text features in both print and digital formats. Unpacked Content Teacher Vocabulary: 23. Text features Text structures Informational texts 23a. Description Comparison and contrast Sequence Problem and solution Cause and effect 23b. Text features Print format Digital format Knowledge: 23. Students know: Informational text often includes text features, such as graphs, charts, diagrams, photographs, etc., to help readers better understand the information in the text. Informational text often follows a predictable text structure. 23a. Informational text often follows a particular text structure and understanding the types of text structure can help improve comprehension. A text that follows a description structure will provide facts and details about a topic. A text that follows a comparison and contrast structure will describe how two or more things are alike or different. A text that follows a sequence text structure will describe events that occurred in chronological order. Problem and solution text structure describes a problem and how the problem was solved or could be solved. Cause and effect text structure describes an event (the cause) and the consequence or result of the event (the effect). 23b. Text features are items like charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages. Text features can provide additional information or enhance understanding of the text. Skills: 23. Students are able to: Identify and describe how text features contribute to the meaning of informational text. Identify and describe how text structure contributes to the meaning of informational text. 23a. Identify the type of text structure a text follows. Describe characteristics of the text structure. 23b. Identify text features in print and digital formats. Explain the meaning of text features in print and digital formats. Understanding: 23. Students understand that: Text features are often included in informational text to help readers better understand the author's intended meaning and message. Informational texts often follow a predictable text structure, and identifying the structure of a text can improve comprehension. 23a. Texts follow a predictable structure that contributes to the overall meaning of the text. 23b. Text features can be found in printed and digital text materials. Text features often provide important information about details in the text or can enhance understanding of details in the text.
English Language Arts ELA2021 (2021) Grade: 4	32. Respond in writing to literature and informational text, including stories, dramas, poetry, and cross-curricular texts, both independently and with support, demonstrating grade-level proficiency. Unpacked Content Teacher Vocabulary: 32. Respond Writing Literature Informational texts Stories Dramas Poetry Cross-curricular texts Independently With support Grade-level proficiency Knowledge: 32. Students know: Responding to text in a written format demonstrates comprehension of the text. Skills: 32. Students are able to: Independently and with support, create grade-appropriate written responses after reading literature and informational text. Understanding: 32. Students understand that: To respond in writing to literature and informational texts, they must read critically, have a deep understanding of the text's content, and use appropriate writing skills.
English Language Arts ELA2021 (2021) Grade: 5	24. Determine and evaluate the effectiveness of digital and print text features and structures, including comparison and contrast, problem and solution, and cause and effect. a. Identify various text features used in diverse forms of text. b. Compare and contrast the overall structure of events, ideas, concepts, or information in multiple texts. Unpacked Content Teacher Vocabulary: 24. Determine Evaluate Effectiveness Digital text features Print text features Text structures Comparison and contrast Problem and solution Cause and effect 24a. Text features 24b. Compare Contrast Events Ideas Concepts Information Knowledge: 24. Students know: Text features are items like charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages. Text features can provide additional information or enhance understanding of the text. Text can be structured in different ways, depending on the type of information that is being communicated. A text that follows a comparison and contrast structure will describe how two or more things are alike or different. Problem and solution text structure describes a problem and how the problem was solved or could be solved. Cause and effect text structure describes an event (the cause) and the consequence or result of the event (the effect). 24a. Text features are items like charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages. Text features can provide additional information or enhance understanding of the text. 24b. Compare means tell how things are alike or similar, and contrast means tell how things are different. There will be similarities and differences among the structure of events, ideas, concepts, and information across multiple texts. Skills: 24. Students are able to: Identify digital and print text features and structures. Evaluate the effectiveness of digital and print text features and structures in communicating the intended meaning. 24a. Identify text features in varied forms of texts. 24b. Identify similarities between the structure of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts. Identify differences between the structure of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts. Understanding: 24. Students understand that: Text features can be found in printed and digital text materials. Text features often provide important information about details in the text or can enhance understanding of details in the text. Texts follow a predictable structure that contributes to the overall meaning of the text. They can demonstrate comprehension of the text by evaluating on the purpose and effectiveness of the text features and structure the author chose to use. 24a. Text features often provide important information about details in the text or can enhance understanding of details in the text. 24b. Comparing and contrasting multiple texts helps them better comprehend the texts and synthesize information from multiple sources.
English Language Arts ELA2021 (2021) Grade: 5	32. Respond in writing to literature and informational text, including stories, dramas, poetry, and cross-curricular texts, independently and with grade-level proficiency. Unpacked Content Teacher Vocabulary: 32. Literature Informational text Stories Dramas Poetry Cross-curricular texts Independently Proficiency Knowledge: 32. Students know: Responding to text in a written format demonstrates comprehension of the text. Skills: 32. Students are able to: Independently create grade-appropriate written responses after reading literature and informational text. Understanding: 32. Students understand that: To respond in writing to literature and informational texts, they must read critically, have a deep understanding of the text's content, and use appropriate writing skills.

Tags:

cause and effect, Essay Map, expository texts, ReadWriteThink Webbing Tool, text structure

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Author:

Cassie Raulston

ALEX Classroom Resource

Exploring Cause and Effect Using Expository Texts About Natural Disasters