The Indian in the Cupboard: Lesson 4 Educational Resources K12 Learning, Literary Studies, Reading Lesson Plans, Activities, Experiments, Homeschool Help

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

When something happens, it doesn't "just happen." The door didn't slam by itself; the wind blew it. The money didn't just disappear from the table; someone took it. You didn't just get wet; you splashed in a puddle. Every effect has a cause, and you will examine them in our story (which will cause you to make a comic strip!).

Welcome back to The Indian in the Cupboard lesson series.

In the previous Related Lesson, found in the right-hand sidebar, you learned that a book is written with a point of view.

What point of view is The Indian in the Cupboard written from?
How would this book be different if it were written from Little Bear's perspective?

Share your thoughts with your parent or teacher. Review the summary you wrote on the sticky note on the last page of Chapter 4.

In this lesson, you will explore the literary strategy of cause-and-effect.

When Omri places a toy in the cupboard and locks the door, what happens to the toy?

Share your answers with your parent or teacher. Yes, the toy becomes a real object, animal, or person.

This is an example of cause-and-effect. A cause tells why something happened. The effect is what happens as a result.

In the above example, which is the cause and which is the effect?

The cause is Omri placing the toy in the cupboard and locking the door. The effect is the object coming to life.

Cause	Effect
Omri places a toy in the cupboard and locks the door.	The object becomes real.

Sometimes, an effect can cause another thing to happen. This creates a chain of cause-and-effect.

Look at the following example:

Cause	Effect
Omri places a horse in the cupboard and locks the door.	The horse comes to life.

Now, think about how the horse coming to life can be the cause.

What is the effect of the horse coming to life?

Share your answers with your parent or teacher. You may have said that Little Bear is kicked by the horse and suffers an injury. If you think about the events that follow Little Bear's injury, you can see how this chain of cause-and-effect continues.

Draw this chart on a piece of paper and fill in three examples of cause-and-effect you have read about so far in The Indian in the Cupboard.

Cause	Effect

Share your chart with your parent or teacher. Discuss the examples you chose and check that you have the cause and effect written in the correct columns.

Continue to the Got It? section to read the next two chapters in The Indian in the Cupboard. As you read, look for examples of cause-and-effect throughout your assigned reading.