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Shaking Ground: Cause and Effect or Problem and Solution?

Grade 5 reading: compare a cause-and-effect text about why earthquakes happen with a problem-and-solution text about safer buildings.

Grade 5ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toRI.5.5

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What’s included

Single worksheet
Auto-graded online
1 Common Core standard
Printable answer key
10 questions
Classroom-ready

Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 5
Subject: ELA
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students identify the cause-and-effect structure of one text and the problem-and-solution structure of another.
Students compare how two texts on the same topic use the same kind of detail in different ways.
Students explain how the structure of each text helps a reader.

How to use

Have students read both texts, marking signal words such as because, as a result and solution. Then they answer the questions, looking back at the paragraph each one names.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

RI.5.5

Compare and contrast the overall structure of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts.

Preview

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Name Date

Shaking Ground: Cause and Effect or Problem and Solution?

Compare how two texts about earthquakes are organized.

Read the two texts

Read Text A and Text B. Both texts are about earthquakes.

Text A: Why the Ground Shakes

1Most of the time, the ground under our feet feels solid and still. In some places, however, it can suddenly begin to shake. This shaking is called an earthquake. To understand what causes earthquakes, we need to look deep below the surface.

2Earth's outer layer is not one solid shell. Instead, it is broken into giant pieces called plates, which fit together like the pieces of a puzzle. The plates move very slowly, so slowly that people cannot feel them moving. Because the plates are always moving, their edges push against each other, pull apart, or scrape past each other.

3Sometimes the edges of two plates get stuck. The plates keep trying to move, so pressure builds up along the edges, like a rubber band that is stretched tighter and tighter. When the pressure becomes too great, the rocks suddenly slip. As a result, energy rushes out in waves that travel through the ground. These waves make the ground shake.

4The shaking can lead to other effects. Strong shaking can crack roads and knock dishes off shelves. Because the waves spread out in every direction, people far from where the earthquake started may feel it too, although the shaking is usually weaker there. When a large earthquake happens under the ocean, it can cause giant waves called tsunamis.

5Most earthquakes are so small that people never notice them. Scientists use tools called seismometers to record the shaking, even when it is very slight. These records help scientists learn how the plates are moving.

Text B: Buildings That Bend

1Earthquakes cannot be stopped, but people can get ready for them. One of the biggest problems during a strong earthquake is that buildings may be damaged when stiff walls crack or tall buildings sway until parts break. Engineers, the people who design buildings and bridges, have found several ways to solve this problem.

2One solution is to let the ground move without moving the whole building. Some buildings rest on special pads made of layers of rubber and steel. The pads sit between the building and the ground. When the ground shakes, the pads bend and soak up much of the motion, so the building above moves much less.

3Another solution is to give a building a frame that is strong but flexible. Builders often use steel, which can bend a little without snapping. They may also add steel beams that cross in an X shape, called cross braces, to help the walls keep their shape. A frame like this can sway during an earthquake and then return to its place.

4A third solution helps people instead of buildings. In many schools, students practice earthquake drills. They learn to drop to the ground, take cover under a sturdy desk or table, and hold on until the shaking stops. Practicing ahead of time helps people stay calm and act quickly.

5Thanks to solutions like these, many buildings today are much safer during earthquakes than buildings of long ago. Engineers keep testing new ideas to make them even safer.

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