The thinking map cause and effect lesson is ideal for a classroom filled with students. With this lesson, ask students to come up with a variety of situations that might occur during the school day. This can include "A student turned in his homework late" or "A teacher reprimanded a class." These statements should be identified as "effects." The students should discuss what items might cause those effects to happen. This will help them apply the idea of cause and effect to real life situations.
Another way to teach young children about cause and effect is to read them books about the concept. One book in particular that deals with cause and effect is "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" by Laura Joffe Numeroff. Read the story to the children, and then ask them to identify the different situations in which cause and effect took place. This is an easy way for students to begin learning about the basics of cause and effect.
To keep things fun and fresh while teaching about cause and effect, teachers can have their students play the sentence game. The game begins with one student stating an effect -- such as "The ball bounced into the street." The next student has to list a cause for that effect, such as "because the boys were not playing carefully." The next student has to list a cause for the last sentence, which could be, "because they were having too much fun." The sentence should continue throughout the entire classroom. This gets the students to think quickly and efficiently about cause and effect, ensuring they understand the concept well.
Cause and Effect Toss is a game that can be played in the classroom or during a day of summer fun. Participants in the game sit in a circle. The first player is given a small ball to throw. The first player says the beginning of a cause-and-effect sentence, such as "The street was dark." Then, that player tosses the ball to another player, who has to list an effect to that sentence, such as "so the car was driving slowly." That person then continues the game by tossing the ball to another person. If someone can't think quickly enough, they lose the ball and it returns to the person who had it last.