Heartfelt Causes & Effects

Last week I read an adorable book called Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch. I couldn't believe that it was published over 20 years ago! It's about a lonely man who receives a Valentine candy heart with a card that says, "Somebody loves you." His whole demeanor changes and, as a result, he develops many friendships. But then he finds out that the candy heart was a mistake, and he reverts to his former quiet self. Of course the story has a happy ending, but you'll have to read the book to find out what happens!

Anyway, as I was reading the book, I thought about how our words and actions can impact others in both positive and negative ways. A smile or a kind word can go a long way to brighten someone's day. I wanted to create a reading lesson to go along with the story, and I thought it would be the perfect text for exploring cause and effect - both in the book and in our own lives.

So I created the Heartfelt Causes & Effects graphic organizer from the Cause and Effects Rocket graphic organizer in my newest ebook, Graphic Organizers for Reading: Teaching Tools Aligned with the Common Core. First, students find three different cause and effect situations in the story. Then they write each cause on one rocket's flame and its effect on the body of the rocket. The rocket theme helps them understand cause and effect relationships because the exhaust (or flame) released from the end of the rocket makes the rocket move forward.

In addition to creating the graphic organizer, I wrote a complete lesson for using Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch with your students. Click the title of the book to find it on Amazon where you can review the reviews and learn more about it. Download the entire lesson with printables from the Seasonal page on Teaching Resources during February or any time of the year from Laura's Best Freebies, a page with over 75 freebies of my very best free resources for teachers. I hope you enjoy the lesson!






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