Program Area(s)
Basic Information
Brief Description
Students will learn what cause and effect is, why it is important to understand it in the workplace, and practice identifying cause and effect relationships in three workplace-related scenarios. The lesson requires reading, answering multiple choice questions, writing sentences to demonstrate understanding of vocabulary words, and writing some reflection sentences.
Essential Questions
1. What is cause and effect and why should employees be able to recognize it?
2. How does understanding cause and effect help an employee solve problems and think critically?
Developed By
Anita Kerr
Co-contributors
Number of Sessions
1
Time Required
90
minutes
Setting
Classroom
Instruction Level
Intermediate
Objectives
Lesson Goal
Students who are employed or will be employed will understand how cause and effect relationships can impact their work performance and their ability to problem solve. Students will become more adept at seeing cause and effect relationships in workplace situations and workplace documents and memos. This will increase their effectiveness on the job and decrease then number of difficulties they encounter from not recognizing effects or consequences of actions and behavior.
Learning Objectives
Instructional Strategies
Independent reading of text pgs 57-58 to acquire necessary background information and practice with one example.
Whole class discussion of 2 workplace documents and multiple choice questions that follow - pgs. 59-60.
Small groups - read and answer multiple choice questions on pg. 61-62. Discuss together the consequences for Leonard if he did not read and understand the workplace instructions on pepper spray.
Small groups - talk about workplace scenarios you have experienced where you or a coworker suffered consequences from not understanding a cause/effect relationship. As each student shares the scenario, group members try to identify the cause and effect, write it down, and then check against other answers.
Independent completion of vocabulary and reflection sentences to be turned in for grading.
Resources
Resource
Lesson 10 "Cause and Effect." WorkWise- Reading at Work. New Readers Press. 2017.
How Resource Is Used
Students will use text to do independent work, and as jumping off point for small group discussions.
Notes
Pages Used
57-62
Lesson Plan
Warm-Up
Activity
Review previous discussion about appropriate workplace behavior and rules/regulations. Ask students which behaviors and scenarios they remember most clearly from our discussion.
Duration
10
minutes
Introduction
Activity
Notes
Duration
minutes
Presentation
Skill to be Presented
Reading, Speaking & Listening, Career Readiness
Steps for Presenting Skill
Students will read independently pages 59-60, where they will learn the formal definition of cause and effect, why it is important to recognize in the workplace, and strategies for recognizing the cause/effect relationship. They will read the example text message and the 4 relationships identified.
Duration
15
minutes
Practice
Activities
Groupings
Small Group
Individual
Duration
30
minutes
Description
Students will read pages 59-60, including 2 workplace texts, and complete the multiple choice questions checking their understanding of cause and effect relationships.
Then, in small groups, they will read the third text (pepper spray instructions on pg.61) and answer the multiple choice questions together. They will discuss the possible consequences for Leonard if he does not correctly read and understand these instructions, and how they figured out what those consequences would be.
Evaluation
Duration
20
minutes
Objectives
Assessments
Written Quiz
Journal Entry
Description
Students will complete the sentences on pg.62, demonstrating correct understanding of the 5 vocabulary terms from the readings. This written activity will be submitted for teacher grading.
Each student will sketch out a scenario they have seen/heard of in a workplace that demonstrates a cause/effect relationship. One at a time, students will explain the scenario orally to the class, and each listener will write what they understand to be the consequence/effect and the cause of it for each scenario. These will be reviewed orally as a class, and students will assess their own answers.
Student Reflection
Students will complete the 2 reflection questions on pg. 62 in a journal-style entry that indicates what they learned and how they will use the skills in their workplace.
Application
Activities
For students who have employment, ask them to describe orally or in writing a time when they saw a cause/effect relationship play out in their workplace, for themselves or another worker. Ask them to explain both the consequences and the cause, and ask them to brainstorm how this effect could have been avoided. This will help them problem solve better in the future.
Notes
This activity should be done about two weeks after the initial lesson, to give time for students to experience a cause/effect relationship in real life.
Location
Inside Classroom