1. what makes something happen
what happens
Cause
and
Effect
with events from
“The Story of the
Three Whales”
Open Court Anthology

2. Most gray whales swam south to warmer waters,
Arctic Ocean
EFFECT
Most gray whales swam south to warmer waters,
when winter came early to the Arctic Ocean in 1988.
Pacific Ocean
CALIFORNIA
CAUSE

3. Three whales swam into an Alaskan bay,
CAUSE
Three whales swam into an Alaskan bay,
so they got trapped by the ice that formed across the mouth of the bay.
EFFECT

4. The three whales had no where left to surface,
EFFECT
The three whales had no where left to surface,
because the bay was shallow and the top of the water froze quickly.
CAUSE

5. The whales kept ramming the ice with their noses
CAUSE
The whales kept ramming the ice with their noses
until finally the ice cracked and they could surface.
EFFECT

6. The Inuit people accepted the whales dying as natural
EFFECT
The Inuit people accepted the whales dying as natural
because they had seen whales get trapped and die before.
CAUSE

7. A wild life ranger came to help the whales,
EFFECT
A wild life ranger came to help the whales,
because news of the whales ordeal spread by T.V. and newspapers.
CAUSE

8. The wildlife ranger began cutting breathing holes for the whales,
CAUSE
The wildlife ranger began cutting breathing holes for the whales,
so the Inuit helped by using ice poles and chainsaws.
EFFECT

9. A bulldozer tried to break through the ice at the mouth of the bay,
CAUSE
A bulldozer tried to break through the ice at the mouth of the bay,
but the whales wouldn’t go there.
EFFECT

10. The whales would not follow the line of holes
EFFECT
The whales would not follow the line of holes
after a sky-crane helicopter punched the holes in the ice.
CAUSE

11. Since the whales stayed by the shore and would not leave,
CAUSE
Since the whales stayed by the shore and would not leave,
polar bears gathered and waited for them to die.
EFFECT

12. Because they never saw Kannick again,
EFFECT
Because they never saw Kannick again,
something must have happened to the smallest whale.
CAUSE

13. The whales followed the Russian icebreaker to the open water,
EFFECT
The whales followed the Russian icebreaker to the open water,
after it cleared a channel a quarter of a mile wide in the bay.
CAUSE

14. When the two gray whales reached the open water,
CAUSE
When the two gray whales reached the open water,
they swam towards their herd.
EFFECT

15. what makes something happen
what happens
Cause
and
Effect
We are learning cause and effect
so we will be better readers and understand what we are reading!