Causation
Cause and effect. How does the discovery of a new resource on one side of the world lead to war on the other? How are the optical experiments of an ancient Islamic scientist connected to the launch of a space telescope centuries later? These lesson plans and resources help students practice historical causation, laying bare hidden connections within history.
Featured Materials
Causation – Introduction
Was it really the straw that broke the camel’s back? Through the tragic tale of Alphonse the Camel, students will begin to explore cause and consequence.
Causation – Natural Disasters
Causation – Plate Tectonics
How do Earth’s tectonic plates impact resorts, religion, and economics? Find out by investigating how Japan’s Mount Fuji formed!
Causation – Revolutions
Causal maps are a great tool to track causes and consequences. In this activity students will apply their understanding of revolutions to a causal map.
Causation – Migration
Why did people make the dangerous journey across the Atlantic Ocean after the Columbian Exchange? Use your causation skills to find out!
Causation – Columbian Exchange
Causation – The Black Death
Students will use their causation skills to examine how the causes and consequences of the Black Death.
Causation – Indian Uprising
In this activity, students will analyze the causes of the 1857 Indian uprising to investigate how and why this rebellion took place when and where it did.
Causation – Environmental Change
In this final causation activity of the progression, you'll write a causal essay for one of our most pressing concerns of the modern era: environmental change.
Teaching This Skill
Causation One-Pager
Historical events are the product of a web of interrelated causes and consequences.
Causation Activities Placement
Locate these activity progressions in all of our courses
Causation Tool
A thinking tool that helps students develop their understanding of causation.
Causation Feedback Form
Provide specific and detailed feedback to build causation skills.