Explain Why an Event Happens
Use an explicit cause to explain a story event.
Supplied materials
- Original passage: “Dara left the paper sign beside an open window. A gust blew through the window and lifted the sign off the desk. Dara closed the window, then picked up the sign.”
- Paper and pencil; spoken responses are welcome.
Learn the idea
A cause explains why something happens; an effect is what happens because of it. Look for details that connect the two, not just events that occur near each other. This passage states that the gust lifted the sign. Leaving it beside an open window explains how the gust could reach it.
Sequence and cause are related but different. Dara closes the window after the sign falls, so closing cannot be the stated cause of that earlier fall. A because sentence should connect the right events. It may also help explain a character’s response: closing the window changes the condition that allowed the gust through.
- List the three actions in their order.
- Locate the sentence naming what lifted the sign.
- Write an effect-because-cause sentence.
- Explain how Dara’s response changes the earlier condition.
See the method in action
The sign left the desk because a gust through the open window lifted it. Dara then closed the window; that later response is not the cause of the earlier movement.
Check your reasoning
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See the answer and explanation
A gust blows through the open window.
The passage directly connects the gust to lifting the sign. Closing and picking up occur later, and desk color is never mentioned.
Take it further
Change the middle sentence to “Dara’s elbow pushed the sign off the desk; no wind came through.” Model: the elbow now causes the fall. Closing a window no longer addresses the stated cause, so a revised response could move the sign away from Dara’s elbow.
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Check the subject sources
These LifeStarter passages, scenarios and exercises are authored for this Academy with AI assistance and review. External resources keep their publishers’ terms. A grade label suggests a starting level; it does not establish alignment with your school’s complete requirements.