About a year ago, I had a teacher ask me if I had any resources with mysteries similar to my main idea mysteries. At the time I didn’t have any, but now I’m happy to say I’ve made a new mystery all about… Cause and effect! These cause and effect activities and mysteries are a hit!
Cause and Effect Activities – The Mystery
Cause and effect mysteries are the perfect introductory activity when teaching cause and effect. To set up the mysteries, you’ll need 6 envelopes. I used small manila envelopes, but you could use anything!
Inside each envelope place four clue cards. Students must figure out which card is the CAUSE. The other 3 cards are the EFFECTS. In the example below, the cause is that Ben fell down while playing at recess.
Students will complete six different mysteries. When conducting these mysteries, I like for students work in groups of 3-4. They get about 3-5 minutes per mystery before rotating.
Cause and Effect Scrambles
After using the cause and effect mysteries, there are a few follow-up activities I like to use. These cause and effect scrambles easy to implement practice printables or formative assessments.
Students cut out the four sentences at the bottom and determine where each one belongs to complete the cause and effect scenarios.
Cause & Effect Puzzles & Reading Passages
These cause and effect passages are perfect to use with small reading groups. Each passage contains multiple examples of cause and effect. Students will read the passage and complete the cause and effect statements.
I also LOVE the cause and effect puzzles! They make for a super fun literacy center that students can complete independently or with a partner.
You can find all of these cause and effect activities here!
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