Lessons & Units :: Cause and Effect 1st Grade Unit

Lesson 3: Cause and Effect Relationships

Lesson Plan

The Gunniwolf

The Gunniwolf
Learning Goal
Identify explicit causes and effects in fiction.
Duration
Approximately 50 minutes
Necessary Materials
Provided: Example Chart, Independent Practice Worksheet
Not Provided: The Gunniwolf retold by Wilhelmina Harper, chart paper, markers

  • Teacher Modeling

    will alternate modeling how to identify causes of events (why) and effects (what) while I read the first part of The Gunniwolf retold by Wilhelmina Harper. I will chart the causes and effects from the book, stopping after page 6. (Example Chart is provided.)

  • Think Check

    Ask: "How did you identify causes and effects in the story?" Students should respond that you are reading the text and thinking about what happens (the effect) and why it happens (the cause).

  • Guided Practice

    will continue to read The Gunniwolf and work together to identify, chart, and discuss the causes (why) of events and effects (what) in the middle of the book, from pages 7-19. (Example Chart is provided.)

    TIP: Acknowledge the pattern of the cause-and-effect relationship in the text by encouraging students to make predictions as you read the story.

  • Independent Practice

    will listen as the teacher reads and identifies causes or effects in the rest of The Gunniwolf. You will draw a picture and write an explanation of the cause or effect of the event from the story. (Independent Practice Worksheet is provided.)

Build Student Vocabulary timidly

Tier 2 Word: timidly
Contextualize the word as it is used in the story The little girl timidly sang to the Gunniwolf.
Explain the meaning student-friendly definition) Timid means shy or fearful. In the story, when the girl sang timidly, it means that she sang in a fearful way. She was frightened of the Gunniwolf.
Students repeat the word Say the word timidly with me: timidly.
Teacher gives examples of the word in other contexts You might walk into a doctor’s office timidly because you are afraid to get a shot. I sewed a button on my shirt timidly because I was afraid of poking myself with the needle. I am never timid because my family taught me to be brave.
Students provide examples Can you think of something that you have done timidly? Start by saying “Once I timidly _____________.”
Students repeat the word again. What word are we talking about? timidly
Additional Vocabulary Words bouquet, caution

Build Student Background Knowledge

Before reading the book, explain to students that you are going to read a story called The Gunniwolf. Tell students that a Gunniwolf is a fictional creature based on a real wolf. The wolf is the largest member of the dog family, but wolves are not good pets. They eat the meat of deer, antelope, bison, and other large animals. Wolves are also dying because of destruction to their habitat or where they live. You can still see wolves in the wild, for example, at Yellowstone National Park in the states of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.

Texts & Materials

Standards Alignment

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User Comments

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Submitted by dplayer on 1/10/16

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Submitted by Rosa.Chavez_1335123 on 3/24/15

The lesson lines up with our standards and method of teaching Social Studies. Multiple choice questions and essays.

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