Lesson Plan – English Language Arts

Candidate: Nicole Kwok

Lesson Title: Cause and Effect – Introduction
Grade Level: K

Central Students will make logical predictions when reading a mentor text using their understanding of cause
Focus: and effect to explain their reasoning and demonstrate comprehension of key story events.
RL.K.1
With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
RL.K.2
With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details.
RL.K.10
Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
Standard(s) SL.K.1
Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and
texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
SL.K.2
Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by
asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not
understood.
Content Students will be able to identify the cause and effect of an event and express their understanding by
Objective: writing an If/Then statement.
Vocabulary: cause, effect, if/then statement, reason, result
Listening
• Listen to the story being read aloud
• Listening to peers’ ideas during turn and talk
• Learn about cause and effect during whole group instruction
Speaking
• Sharing ideas with peers during turn and talk
• Offering own if/then statements as teacher writes their sentences on the anchor chart
• Express understanding of mentor text
Reading
• Students can read the anchor chart
§ What is cause and effect?
§ If/then statements from classmates as it is being written on the anchor chart
Academic
Writing
Language
• Students will complete a worksheet that requires them to write their own if/then statement
Demands:
• They will write their sentence according to the sentence frame provided “If….then…”
Language Function: predict
Discourse
• Students will express their ideas in a complete sentence on their own or with teacher prompting.
• English learners should be able to repeat key vocabulary words in phrases
• Students will engage in academic discourse through collaborative learning. They will turn and talk
to their peers and share their ideas in if/then statements that demonstrate understanding of cause
and effect.
• Students can understand a text and answer questions about key events in the story.
Syntax
• Students will be given a sentence frame: “If…/Then…” to express the cause and effect of an event.
§ They will express this verbally and formally through a worksheet at the end of the lesson
• They will express the cause and effect of an event: “The cause is…” and “The effect is…”
Instruction designed for:
• 24 students aged 5-6, 10 boys, 14 girls
• 3 ELs (Level 1: 2, Level 2: 1) 2 special needs
Class
• Learning styles: visual aids and manipulatives, verbal repetition, collaborative learning
Information:
• 6-8 struggling learners
• Most of the students are at or above grade level
• First experience with schooling for 4 students
 Lesson Plan – English Language Arts

Strategies, supports, modifications to instruction and assessment include:

• Slower or quicker pacing (depending on academic level)
• Allowing for longer response time
• Chunking or breaking down instructions
• Seating – IEP students, struggling learners, or English learners in close proximity of teacher
Adaptations:
• Conferencing with aforementioned students during student collaboration time (turn and talk)
• Repetition
• Frontloading/Preteaching words and labeling for English Learners
• Manipulatives in different materials (tactile, visual learning modalities)
• Accessible materials (manipulatives for all students)
Informal Assessments – Formative
• During instruction students will be given an opportunity to turn and talk to a peer to come up with
examples of cause and effect
§ Teacher will observe and monitor discussion, conferencing with select English learners, special
needs students, or struggling learners
§ Teacher will check for understanding, using gauge of student understanding to determine if
lesson should be extended
Description
• Following turn and talk teacher will write student examples on the anchor chart
of
Formal Assessment – Summative
Assessment:
• Students will complete If/Then writing worksheet as independent practice, filling out their own
example of cause à effect using the if/then sentence structure
§ Teacher will circulate the classroom, checking in with English learners, special needs students,
or struggling learners
o Instructions may be repeated or broken down for these students
o Teacher will emphasize the importance of using anchor charts as a resource
o Teacher will gauge student understand to decide if re-engagement is necessary
• Students can listen to a story and then understand and recall key events
• Students can express thoughts verbally and through writing and drawing
Prerequisite • Students can answer simple comprehension questions about the story
Background • English learners can follow the story using commonly used words and illustrations for context
Knowledge/ • All students can reference materials posted around the classroom (e.g., anchor charts)
Skills: • Students can use sentence frames to complete a sentence and draw an illustration to go with it
§ English learners and special needs’ students can locate commonly used words on word walls
or anchor charts around the classroom and copy them into their sentences with guidance
• Mentor Text, “If You Give a Dog a Donut”
Materials: • Cause and Effect Anchor Chart
• If/Then Worksheet
T = Teacher
• Mentor text, “If You Give a Dog a Donut” will be read aloud to students.
• Teacher uses guided questioning for comprehension check: “Why did the dog do this?” “What
Open happened after he did that?” “What happened before he asked for the donut?”
• Teacher will explain that when someone in a story does something or a story event happens, there
is a reason why. Things always happen for a reason. People in stories do something for a reason.
• Teacher brings out anchor chart and introduces contents to students.
• T: “The story word for reason is cause. Can everyone say cause?” Students repeat. “The cause is
the reason why something happened.”
• T: “What happens after the cause is called the effect. Repeat after me. Effect.” Students repeat.
“The effect is what happened because someone did something. We can also say the effect is the
result of something happening. Let’s read our anchor chart together.”
• Teacher points to definitions of cause and effect on anchor chart, leading students to read along.
Body • T: “Usually we talk about cause and effect using the words if and then. For example, let’s read
together what it says here. Do you all remember how we were given the flower seeds to plant in
our little cups? This statement has to do with that! ‘If I water the plants, then they will grow.’”
§ “We’ll use if [hold out right palm] for the cause and then [hold out left palm] for the effect.”
§ Teacher will ask questions to emphasize how cause creates the effect: “What is the reason
why the plants grow?” and “What happens because I water the plants? What is the result?”
§ Call on student volunteers, offering feedback or guidance depending on student answers
 Lesson Plan – English Language Arts

§ Teacher will remind students to respond in a complete sentence: “The result is…” or “The
reason is…”
• T: “So what comes first? The cause or the effect?”
§ Students will say answers out loud as a group; they should understand that the cause comes
before the effect
• T: “Can anyone think of any other examples of cause and effect? What do you do and what is the
reason why you do it?”
• T: “For example, I can say, ‘If I don’t eat my lunch, then I will be hungry for the rest of the day.’
See how I remembered to use the word if for cause and then for effect?”
§ T: “Turn and talk to your partner and share with them some examples from your life that you
have for cause and effect. Things you do at school, at home, when you go out with your
families. What words do we need to remember to use when we are sharing?”
§ Students should give the answer, “If/Then”
• Teacher will set timer for 2-3 minutes of turn and talk time. During this time, teacher will monitor
students’ academic discourse, listening for “if/then” statements and correct examples
demonstrating cause/effect
• Teacher will provide feedback and guidance as necessary while listening in on pairs, paying extra
attention to and prompting English learners, special needs students, or struggling learners
• T: “Alright, who can share with us their if/then cause and effect examples?”
• Call on student volunteers – teacher will remind students to use academic language, giving
complete sentences using the given if/then structure
• Teacher will ask students to point out the reason why and the result in their examples,
• Teacher will write out student examples onto anchor chart all the while checking for understanding
§ Teacher will emphasize academic vocabulary, using “if” and “then” by repeating, gesturing,
and underlining the words on the anchor chart
§ Teacher will write “if” in one color and “then” in another to highlight the difference
§ Teacher will lead class to read if/then statements aloud
• T: “It really looks like you guys know a lot about cause and effect! I couldn’t get everyone’s great
examples onto the anchor chart, so you’re all going to get the chance to write your own if/then
statements and draw a picture to go with it! Let’s go over one more time what we have on our
anchor chart first. I want all of us to be very familiar with cause and effect. Repeat after me. Cause
is the reason why something happened. Effect is what happened after. Let’s read our example
here, ‘If I water the plants, then they will grow. Which is the cause? [student response: If I water
the plants] Which is the effect? [student response: then they will grow]
• T: “Great. One last thing. What word do we use in our sentence to show that it’s a cause? [student
response: if] And if we want to show that it is an effect of something? [student response: then]
Close • Students return to their seats to complete a writing piece, applying cause & effect
§ Teacher will provide sentence structure “If____, then____” by writing it out on the board
§ Anchor chart will also be posted for easy reference
§ Students will draw an illustration to accompany their sentence
• Students will be given the chance to read their sentence to their peers after they’ve finished.
• Students will be reminded to use academic vocabulary, emphasizing if/then
• Teacher will provide feedback and circulate classroom, prompting and eliciting responses

Instructional Strategies: Turn and Talk (collaborative learning), visual learning, modeling, choral
response, guided questioning, sentence frames/starters