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Reading and Writing 6-8 / Week 07 / Tuesday
2/6
Week 07 · Informational Texts

Tuesday

Structure: cause, effect, problem, solution
// How a piece of nonfiction is built
⏱ about 20 min

Tuesday: Cause, Effect, Problem, Solution

Rocket walks in with wet socks and a grin. "The skate ramp puddle is back."

"Back?" Raven asks, pulling an old issue from the stack. "We wrote about that puddle. Here."

She lays the report on the table. "What do you notice about the first half and the second half?"

Rocket reads. "The first half says why the puddle happens. The second half says how we fixed it."

"Two shapes in one piece," Raven says. "A cause and its effect, then a problem and its solution."

Nova dips low over the page, her light resting on one word. "Because," she reads. "A small word with a big job."

Rocket is already reaching for the rake by the door.

Learn it: cause and effect, problem and solution

A cause and effect structure explains why something happened and what happened as a result. Signal words include because, so, since and as a result.

A problem and solution structure names a problem and then explains how it was or could be solved. Signal words include problem, trouble, fix, solved and one idea was.

Raven thinks aloud: "The text says the puddle formed because the drain was blocked. So the blocked drain is the cause, and the puddle is the effect."

Many Signal reports use more than one structure. Name the structure of each part, not just the whole.

  • Find the signal word, then ask which side is the cause and which is the effect.
  • For problem and solution, find the problem first. Then list each solution the writer mentions.
  • Ask: Did the writer explain why one solution won?
CAUSE OR PROBLEM?
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Which word most often signals a cause?
The path flooded, so the garden gate was closed. Which part is the effect?
A report names a leaky roof and explains how neighbors patched it. What is its structure?

Read it

This report ran in this week's Signal. Watch for the place where the structure changes.

Read it
The Puddle at the Skate Ramp
For two weeks, a wide puddle sat at the bottom of the skate ramp on Maple Street.
Skaters rolled down the ramp, hit the water, and slid to a stop with soaked socks.
The Signal went to find out why.
The puddle formed because a drain at the edge of the path was packed with leaves.
Rain ran down the ramp, reached the blocked drain, and had nowhere to go.
So the water spread into a pool that never dried.
That was the cause. The problem was what to do about it.
Three neighbors met at the ramp on Saturday morning to talk about a fix.
One idea was to move the ramp, but that would take a crane and a whole summer.
Another idea was a rubber mat, but a mat would only hide the water, not drain it.
The idea that won was the simplest: clear the drain, and check it after every storm.
Rocket and two skaters scooped out the leaves with a garden rake in under an hour.
The next rain ran straight down the drain, and the ramp was dry by noon.
The crew has pinned a new card to the corkboard: Check the drain after it rains.
As a result, the ramp has stayed dry ever since, and the socks have stayed dry too.
CHECK IT: THE PUDDLE AT THE SKATE RAMP
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
What caused the puddle?
Why was moving the ramp rejected?
Why was a rubber mat rejected?
Which sentence marks the switch from cause and effect to problem and solution?
Which signal word in the fifth line tells you a cause is coming? Type the one word.
Which three-word phrase near the end means the same as so? Type the phrase.
What tool did Rocket and the skaters use? Type the one word.
About the reportTrue or false?
The first half of the report explains a cause and its effect.?
The neighbors chose to move the ramp.?
The solution that won was the simplest one.?
The report ends with a problem that is still unsolved.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEThe report moves from cause to problem to solution, and the drain card on the corkboard shows the fix stuck.
ORDER THE EVENTS
  • Cause comes before effect, and problem comes before solution.
  • Tap the cards in order.
1First
2Next
3Then
4Last
Try it
Read the report again and tap the table each time you hear a signal word.
Tell someone the cause, the problem and the solution in three short sentences.

Two more shapes found. Tomorrow is Writing Lab: how one section of a longer piece fits the whole.

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