Cause and effect is such a big part of students’ lives. It’s taught in reading, math, science, social studies, and during social-emotional learning. So it makes sense that we need more than one cause-and-effect graphic organizer to teach it.
When teaching cause and effect, make sure students know that a “cause” and “effect” can be many things. A cause could be large and dramatic, like a war. Or it could be something small, like a butterfly flapping its wing. It’s the same for effects. They can be large, like, well, a war. Or they can be subtle, like how a character responds to another’s invitation.
Use these six cause-and-effect graphic organizers to help students organize their ideas while working with cause and effect.
Myranda McDonald for We Are Teachers
1. Basic Cause-and-Effect Graphic Organizer
This is cause and effect laid out in its simplest format. Use this graphic organizer to help students understand what cause and effect are, then assign short articles with clear causes and effects to help students analyze texts with this structure. You can also use this graphic organizer to help students plan a cause-and-effect essay.
Use these cause-and-effect essay topics to engage students in writing their own essays.
Myranda McDonald for We Are Teachers
2. One Cause, Multiple Effects
Sometimes one cause can have multiple effects. Use this graphic organizer to help students analyze stories or informational texts where one event sets off a cascade of effects. For example, a character makes a decision and it impacts multiple characters’ lives.
Myranda McDonald for We Are Teachers
3. Multiple Causes, One Effect
This graphic organizer will help students pull apart situations where more than one cause results in one effect. For example, different social issues affecting different groups of people can dictate how history is taught in school.
Myranda McDonald for We Are Teachers
4. Cause and Effect Chain
Use this graphic organizer to organize a series of causes and effects (like when you’re reading a longer article or novel). Or have students cut out the strips and create a cause-and-effect chain to show how the causes and effects are linked.
Myranda McDonald for We Are Teachers
5. Cause and Effect Flip-Book
This activity is fun for younger students, and great for science and social studies classes when you’re teaching about a cause that directly lead to an event. Have students write or draw the cause on the top and the corresponding event on the bottom. Then, glue the causes on top to create a flip-book to show how each cause results in the effect.
Myranda McDonald for We Are Teachers
6. Cascade of Effects
Sometimes the initial cause is just the beginning and the effect of the first cause becomes the cause of the second effect, and so on. Use this graphic organizer to help students organize series of events that build on each other, as in a science experiment or narrative.
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Teaching cause and effect? Check out Cause and Effect Lesson Ideas.
Mary Davis is a writer for New State OK. She covered the sports beat, but she's also done a lot of health and well-being reporting, too. She's also written some things that aren't even technically news—like reviews of restaurants and other places in the area.
