Cause and Effect

Grade Level Eight – 50 Minute Class
Cause and Effect - Introduction
1. Cause and Effect
What is the cause of something and what are the effects of that causation? How do they link together? How do cause and effect exist in our everyday lives? How does cause lead to effect? How does this connect to Romeo and Juliet and colonization?
2. Prior Knowledge
As part of this unit I will activate prior knowledge from the previous unit studied which was truth. Truth is affected by bias and this can in turn affect our perception of cause and effect.   Explain that cause and effect exists in our everyday lives. Cause and effect is found in fiction as well as history and authors draws on several techniques to make us the reader think about what or who caused what. I will link this to prior knowledge of analysis and ultimately use this to analyze Romeo and Juliet later in the unit.   I will also refer back to the writing devices considered in the poetry unit which are also used in Shakespearian plays, such as, repetition, emotion, and schema and utilize the analytical techniques acquired during the poetry unit to analyze an advert.
3. Rationale
How does cause lead to effect? One incident can affect our lives in many ways and it is important that students learn that each of their actions has a ‘knock on’ effect. Cause and effect is relevant on a large scale in the world in general and a small scale in our everyday lives. Truth influences our understanding of cause and effect.   Analysis can help develop critical thinking to interpret how cause and effect are illustrated in literature and history.
4. The NJ Core Curriculum Standards
The NJ Core Curriculum Standards targeted in the unit were:
3.1 (Reading) All students will understand and apply the knowledge of sounds, letters, and words in written English to become independent and fluent readers, and will read a variety of materials and texts with fluency and comprehension. How can there be more than one truth? How does... [continues]

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