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Geysers Two Ways: Cause and Effect or Problem and Solution?

Read two original texts about geysers and hot springs, one cause and effect and one problem and solution, then compare their structures.

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 cause-and-effect and problem-and-solution structures in two informational texts.
Students compare how the structure of each text fits what the author wants to explain.

How to use

Read the two texts together, then have students mark cause-and-effect signal words in Text 1 and problems and fixes in Text 2 before answering.

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.

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Name Date

Geysers Two Ways: Cause and Effect or Problem and Solution?

Compare how two texts about geysers are organized.

Read the two texts

Read both texts. Notice how each author organizes the information.

Text 1: What Makes a Geyser Erupt?

1A geyser is a hot spring that shoots water and steam into the air from time to time. Geysers are rare. They form only where three things come together: a supply of water, a source of heat underground and narrow cracks and tubes in the rock. Yellowstone National Park has more geysers than any other place on Earth.

2The water comes from rain and melting snow. It seeps down through cracks, sometimes far below the surface. Down there, the rocks are very hot because they lie above magma, which is melted rock deep inside Earth. As a result, the water becomes hotter than boiling water in a kitchen pot.

3Why doesn't that super-hot water boil away right away? The weight of all the water above it presses down, and this pressure keeps it from turning into steam. The narrow tubes in the rock also trap the water, so it cannot easily rise and cool.

4Eventually, a little of the water near the top turns to steam. The steam bubbles push some water out of the opening. Because that water is gone, the pressure on the water below drops suddenly. This causes the hot water deep down to flash into steam all at once. The steam expands and blasts water high into the air. That is an eruption.

5After the eruption, the tubes are nearly empty. Water seeps back in and heats up again, so the whole cycle starts over.

Text 2: Keeping Hot Springs Safe

1Every year, many visitors walk among the steaming pools and geysers of Yellowstone. The hot springs are beautiful, but they bring real dangers, both to people and to the springs themselves.

2The first problem is the ground. In many places, a thin crust of rock covers boiling water. It may look solid, but it can break under a person's weight. The water in many hot springs is hot enough to cause terrible burns.

3To solve this problem, the park built boardwalks and marked trails through the geyser areas. Signs remind visitors to stay on them. The boardwalks let people get close enough to watch an eruption while keeping their feet off the fragile ground.

4A second problem is litter. For many years, some visitors tossed coins, rocks and trash into the pools. These objects clogged the openings where hot water flows in. In some springs, the water cooled, and the bright colors changed.

5The solution was a firm rule: nothing may be thrown into a hot spring. Rangers explain why the rule matters, and workers have removed objects from some springs. Thanks to these steps, visitors can enjoy the springs while helping to protect them.

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