1. Cause and
Effect
Comprehension Skill
Fourth Grade Unit 3 Week 1
Created by Kristi Waltke

2. Cause and Effect
Why does the
ball move?
Hitting the ball
with the club
causes the ball
to move.
Causes and effects are related. An
effect is what happens. A cause
is why it happens.

3. Cause and Effect
• Clue words such as because, so, and
cause sometimes signal a cause-effect
relationship.
• Sometimes you must figure
out for yourself that one thing causes
another.
• Sometimes a cause has more than one effect.

4. Good readers ask themselves why things
happen in a story. Asking why will
help you figure out cause and effect!
When you see the hippo in the pond,
you can ask yourself why he got in
there. He is probably in the water to
cool off.
This is cause and
effect.
Cause
The hippo was hot.
Effect
He got in the water.

5. Think about the story.
Why is the stranger lying
in the road?

6. Cause
Effect
Mr. Bailey hit
the stranger
with his truck
so the
stranger is
lying in the
road.

7. Think about the story.
Why did the stranger try
to run away when he
opened his eyes?

8. Cause
The author
said the
stranger
looked up
with terror.
He must have
been afraid
Effect
so he tried
to run away.

9. Think about the story.
What effect does the
stranger have on the
thermometer?

10. Cause
Effect
The doctor
uses the
thermometer
on the
stranger
so the
mercury
gets stuck
at the
bottom.

11. Think about the story.
What happens when the
stranger blows on the
soup?

12. Cause
The stranger
blows on the
soup
Effects
then a
draft is
created
and Mrs.
Bailey
says brr.

13. Think about the story.
What are some details that
cause the reader to notice
that the stranger is special?

14. Causes
Rabbits allow
the stranger
close.
The stranger
doesn’t sweat or
get tired with
hard work.
The stranger blows
with all his might on a
green leaf and we see
an orange leaf in the
picture.
Effect
So we
know that
the
stranger is
special

15. Think about the story.
Since the stranger’s visit, the
trees around the Bailey’s farm
stay green for a week longer than
the other trees. Then, they
change color in one night. Why?

16. Cause
Effect
The stranger
uses his
special cold
weather
power
so the trees
around the
Bailey farm
turn
differently.