Grade 2 · Reading · Informational

2nd Grade Cause and Effect worksheets

6 printable versionsBuilding ConfidenceAbout 5 minutes eachFree · no account

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Cause and Effect

Grade 2 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence

NameDate

Read the text. Circle the best answer.

Read this first
Why Ice Melts
Ice is water that has frozen solid. Water freezes when it gets very cold. Ice stays frozen only while the air around it is cold too.
When ice gets warm, it starts to melt. Heat from the sun, the air, or your hand can warm it. As the ice warms up, it turns back into liquid water.
You can see this with an ice cube. If you put one on a plate in a sunny window, it melts fast. A puddle forms on the plate. If you put one in a shady spot, it melts more slowly because the air there is cooler.
Melting can go the other way too. If you put the puddle of water back in the freezer, it gets cold. Then it freezes, and you have ice once more.
1.
Why does ice start to melt?
- because it sits on a plate
- because it gets warm
- because it gets very cold
2.
What happens when water gets very cold?
- It freezes.
- It dries up.
- It melts.
3.
Which sentence uses because the right way?
- Because the air is cold, the ice cube melts.
- Because the ice cube melts, the sun is warm.
- Because the sun is warm, the ice cube melts.
4.
Why does an ice cube melt fast in a sunny window?
- The window is cold.
- The sun warms it.
- The plate is wet.

2nd Grade Cause and Effect worksheet 1 – printable PDF — Download PDF: 1 2 3 4 5 6

About this worksheet

Cause and effect help readers explain how events connect. A cause tells why something happened, and an effect tells what happened because of it. Second graders may reverse the two, especially when both ideas appear in the same sentence. They may also choose an event that is in the text but is not connected to the target event. This worksheet uses one text, printed once above the four questions that use it, with clear relationships, then asks students to identify causes, effects, matching pairs, and unrelated events.

Encourage your child to use the words because and so as a test. If the sentence makes sense with because, the cause is probably in the right place. Watch for a child who picks a true fact from the text simply because it sounds important, even though it plays no real part in causing the event in question.

What your child will learn

Identify causes in a text
Identify effects in a text
Match connected events
Avoid reversing cause and effect

Common Core standard: RI.2.3

Worked example

The sun warms the ice cube, so it melts. The warm sun is the cause; melting is the effect.

Common mistake

Choosing an event from the text that is not the reason for the target event.

Helpful hint

A cause answers why. An effect answers what happened.

Next skill: Compare Texts Earlier: Context Clues

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with cause and effect?

Choosing an event from the text that is not the reason for the target event.

How can I help my child with cause and effect?

A cause answers why. An effect answers what happened.

Are these 2nd grade reading worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions on this page are free to download and print, with no account needed.

More 2nd grade informational

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