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Year 3 English Reading & Writing

Cause and Effect

Understanding why things happen (cause) and what results from them (effect) helps you read and write more deeply.

What is a cause?

A cause is the reason something happens — the action or event that leads to a result. Ask yourself: "Why did this happen?" The answer is the cause.

Example: It rained all day. → Cause = rain

What is an effect?

An effect is what happened as a result of the cause. Ask yourself: "What happened because of this?" The answer is the effect.

Example: The streets flooded. → Effect = flooding

Signal words

These words signal cause-and-effect relationships:

  • Cause words: because, since, as a result of, due to
  • Effect words: so, therefore, consequently, as a result

One cause, many effects

A single cause can have multiple effects. For example, if a bush fire starts (cause), the effects could include: animals losing their homes, air quality worsening, and roads being closed.

Key Vocabulary

cause — the reason an event happens; the "why"
effect — the result or outcome of a cause; the "what happened"
because — a conjunction used to show a cause: "X happened because Y"
therefore — a word showing effect or result: "Y, therefore X"

Cause and Effect Examples

Cause: Tom forgot to water the plant.
→
Effect: The plant dried out and died.
Cause: Jess studied hard every night.
→
Effect: She scored 100% on her test.
Cause: A strong wind blew all night.
→
Effect: Branches fell across the road.

Knowledge Check

Question 1

In the sentence: "Because it snowed overnight, school was cancelled," what is the CAUSE?

Question 2

Which of these is an EFFECT of "a student staying up too late"?

Question 3

Which word in this sentence signals a cause-and-effect relationship? "The river flooded; therefore, many families had to leave their homes."

Question 4

A story says: "Poppy forgot her umbrella. When the storm hit, she got completely soaked." What is the effect?

Lesson Summary