Grades 6-8

Learning about cause and consequence

Overview

This lesson is one of a series that introduces six historical thinking concepts developed by Peter Seixas of the
University of British Columbia. Each lesson supports teachers in using a video to introduce one of the concepts. The
videos are available at http://www.tc2.ca/videos.php. The lessons are available in different versions for grades 6-8
and grades 9-12.

This lesson’s written materials and six-minute Cause and Consequence video offer an engaging way to introduce
the concept of cause and consequence to students in grades 6-8. The video features the mysterious murder of
the Donnelly family from the Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History website. The question is asked, What
are the range of factors that contributed to the event? Factors such as people, ideas and beliefs, institutions and
even other events are considered, as well as whether causes are immediate or underlying. The question, Which of
the causes are most influential? is also addressed. The video ends with a look at the consequences of this event,
expected and planned and unexpected and unplanned.

Cause and consequence

Historians are like detectives; they try to understand what happened in the past, and why it happened. The
concepts of cause and consequence address who or what influenced events to occur and what the repercussions of
those events were.

Objectives

Students will understand that:

• events have a variety of different and often unappreciated causes
• causes can be immediate or underlying
• consequences can be immediate or long-term
• broad underlying causes are often more important than immediate causes
• people, alone or in groups, can cause events, but so can other forces such as ideas, beliefs (religion, politics),
institutions (governments) and other events
• consequences can be intended and unintended

This resource was developed with contributions from:

BC
HERITAGE
FAIRS
Internment Canada

www.tc2.ca © 2014, The Critical Thinking Consortium

Learning about cause and consequence

Suggested activities

BEFORE THE VIDEO

Consider personal causes and consequences

Invite students to consider causes and consequences of the grade they received on a recent test. Display the list of
ideas and ask students to answer the following:

• What are the wide-ranging causes of the grade they received? Which of these are more immediate and
which are underlying? Ask students to think beyond how much time they had, and consider broad factors
such as health, economics or other aspects of their social and physical environment. Possible student
responses may include having to work to support their family thus leaving little time for study, suffering
from an illness or having to care for a family member.

• What are the immediate and possible long-term consequences of the grade they received? Again, ask
students to think as broadly as possible about aspects of their social and physical environment, including
possible economic and psychological impacts. Possible student responses may include a negative impact on a
grade required for post-secondary acceptance or a loss of confidence in a student’s ability.

Create a cause and consequence web

Student

Invite students to record their thoughts using the activity sheet, Web of causes and
activity
sheet
Name: ___
_________
Web of _________
_________

consequences. Ask students to organize the causes and consequences in a way

Long ter causes and ___
m consequen
ces

nce
that communicates immediate and underlying causes and immediate and long-

Conseque
term consequences. Encourage students to elaborate on connections and show Immediate

how one event may have led to another using arrows and possibly text between
circles. Event:

Immediate

Determine importance
Discuss with students how causes and consequences of events in history are
Cause

similar to those in their own lives in that they can be immediate, underlying Underlyin
g

or long-term, and some causes and consequences are more important than
others. Explain to students that in order to determine the most important
causes and consequences, they need to provide evidence to support their Learning
about caus
e and cons
equence

claims by using the following criteria. 7

© 2014,
The Criti
cal Thin
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sortium
www.tc2.
ca

Determining the importance of causes

• Evidence of a causal connection. Is the cause clearly connected with the event and not just a coincidence? If
this factor were removed, how likely is it that the event would still have occurred?

• Degree of influence. To what extent did the cause contribute to the direction and intensity of the event or
make other causes more or less important?

• Absence of alternative explanations. Is there no reason to suspect that some other factor, closely aligned
with the suggested causal factor, can explain the outcome?

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Learning about cause and consequence

Determining the importance of consequences

• Depth of impact: How deeply felt or profound was the consequence?

• Breadth of impact: How widespread were its impacts?

• Duration of impact: How long-lasting was the consequence?

Introduce the Donnelly family murders

Read the following information to the class:

During a winter night in 1880, the Donnelly family was massacred by an angry mob and their farm was
burned to the ground. These Irish Catholics had lived in southern Ontario for decades, eking out a living
from the land. The head of the clan, James, had done prison time for killing another Irishman who had
questioned the Donnellys’ right to the land they lived on. Thirteen men were tried on two separate
occasions for the murder of the Donnellys; no one was ever convicted. Interest in the event remains high;
several books and a play have been written and a museum has recently been established.

Based on this introduction to the Donnelly murders, ask students in pairs or small groups to identify and record the
immediate and underlying causes and the immediate and long-
term consequences of the event, in the first row of the activity
Student
activity she
sheet, Causes and consequences. et

Source Causes an Name: ___

d conseq _________
Immedia uences _________
te causes _________
Introduct Underlying ___
ion to the
Donnelly causes
family Immedia
murders te
conseque Long-term
nces
conseque
nces

DURING THE VIDEO

Video an
d readin
g

Invite students to view the video, Cause and Consequence,

and to look for any evidence that will inform and change
their decisions while they learn about the Donnelly murders. Group dis
cus sion

They may wish to refine the “Introduction to the Donnelly

family murders” section of the activity sheet, Causes and
Consequences, by circling evidence that is corroborated by Student
informati
on shee
t
information in the video, and underlining evidence that is
Learning
about caus
e and con Murder
sequence
The Donn of the Do
ell nnellys:
near Lucan ys emigrated fro Cause an
d Conse
, Ontario, 8 m Irelan quence

not supported by the video. If possible, provide students

“squatte north of d during
d.” It wa London. the 18
Grace. Th s actually Their pro © 20140 s and set
ere were owned by perty 4, The Critical tled in the
Eventuall a number the Cana did not legThin tow
da Comp allyking Consortiumnship of
y, James of squab any and be long to www.tc2.ca Biddulph
neighbo Donnell bles abou them; the ,

with multiple opportunities to view the video.

urs y Sr., fue t this an granted y had
having the with an ice pick. lled by liq
uor at a
d severa
l
to anoth
er
ir reputa
tion sullie
James pa
id for thi communit neighbours becam settler, James
d foreve s cri me with y log gin e inv olved.
r. g bee, kil
Trouble seven yea led one
followed rs in prison of these
faith we the Donn ; his fam
re often ellys. Th ily paid
which cre at the roo eir Irish by
ated dif t of it. Th backgrou
John Co ficulties. ough Ro nd and the
nnolly wa A parish man Catho ir commi
vision of s such a priest cou lic, they tm
a prope pri ld exert tre we re friend en t to the Ca
r Catholic. est. He did not mendou ly to Pro tholic
He active lik e the Do s influence tes tants as
ly turne nnellys be over a com well,
The Donn d the com cause the munity an
all of the ellys` com munity ag y did no d

AFTER THE VIDEO

cri munity we ainst the t confor
sometime mes perpetrated re accust
omed to
m. m to his
s they we by the Do violence.
told Attor re the vic nnelly cla It would
ney Gene tims. Cri n but the be impo
there an ral (and me was y we re ssib
d recom future Pri so rampa not always le to list
all of the mended me Minis nt in Bid the perpe
cri travel ter) John dulph tha trators;
and memb mes for which the during daylight A. Macdo
nald tha
t in 1859
a local au
ers of the y were bla hours on t it was thority
in Biddu ly. The Do
lph. Const infamous Vigila med. Ma nn not safe
encourag able Jam nce Comm ny of their accuse ellys may not ha to go

Expand causes and consequences with additional evidence

ed townsf es Carro ittee, sup rs were ve commi
olk to ab ll, a Donn posedly long-stan tted
hor the elly enem created ding enem
Donnell y, was inv to help ies
On Janua ys and pro olved in pre vent crime
ry 15, 18 mised to this
Donnell
y wa 80 the ba rid the tow committee. He
for everyt s falsely accuse
Using information from the video and the information sheet, Murder
rns of Pa nsh ip
hing.” Th d. On Feb trick “G of them.
spending at night, ruary 3rd rouchy”
, James Ryder
the
nearby tow night so he cou
thirteen
year-old complaine were burned do
Johnny d that his wn.
night, wi
n for a tria
l hearing
ld feed the
animals O’Conno family we James

of the Donnellys: Cause and consequence,1 invite students to complete

tne in the mo r was at re “blam
fire to the ss to a vicious mo about the Ryde rning wh the Donn
elly home ed
cabin be b who kil r ba ile the Do
and went for led James rns. He hid unde nnellys tra stead,
to the do e continuing to Sr., his wi r his bed velled to
or to see the home of fe, one son in the midd a
what wa le of the
the “Video and reading” section of the activity sheet, Causes and s happen William and a nie
The tow ing. He Donnell ce. The mo
called it n of Lucan was mista y. William`s bro b then set
“the bla was sho ken for ther Joh
others cel cke st crime cke d when
they heard
Wi llia m and sho n awoke
ebrated every com t de ad
home of . Local offi mi ab .

consequences. could no
Carroll wa
the eye
t come to
s given a
witness,
a decision
cials arrest tted in the Domi out the murders.
Johnny
bu
O’Conno
ed 13 pe
ople for
r, was bu
rned to
nion” of
murder,
Canada.
including
Local ne
Some lam papers
ws
ented the
not guilty t preparations the groun James Ca
rroll. Th loss;
verdict. began im d be for e fam
mediatel e the tria ily
The Donn y for a sec l. The jur
their fam elly fam ond tria y
ily ily moved l in which
remained members. Two on with
their live
James
in the Lu of James` s, but the
admitte can area, children y promised
d to the be com , Patrick
London ing both an to aveng
Committe
e also suf Psychiatr lawmake d Jenny, moved e the de
aths of
fered vio ic Hospi rs and away. Wi
lent death tal. Interestingly lawbreakers. In lliam an
d Robert
s: a fact , some of 1908, Ro
The murde William the memb bert
up to the r of the
Donnell
made a
note of ers of the was
present, ys has fas on his de Vig ilance
with nu cinated athbed.
Learning merous thousand
about hist books an s, from the
orical sign
ificance d a play
written days imme
about it. diately fol
6 lowing
© 2014,
The Crit
ical Thin
king Con
sortium

1
Additional information about this historic event can be found on the Great Unsolved Mysteries web site:
www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/donnellys/home/indexen.html
www.tc2.ca 3 © 2014, The Critical Thinking Consortium
Learning about cause and consequence

Form and share judgments

Student

Ask students in pairs or small groups to share and discuss their causes,
activity she
et

Source Causes and Name: ___

consequences and evidence, and give them an opportunity to adjust consequen _________
Immediate ces _________
causes _________
Introduct Underlyin ___
ion to the g causes
Donnelly
family Immediate

their responses in the “Student discussion” section of the activity

murders
consequen Long-term
ces
consequen
ces

sheet, Causes and consequences, according to their discussion.

Video and
reading

Discuss with the class the differences in the actual causes of the
Donnelly murders and those they speculated about from the few Group dis
cussion

sentences they were given prior to the video. Invite the class to
consider the role that additional evidence from different sources
plays in deepening their understanding of cause and consequence. Learning
about caus
e and cons
equence

Suggest that the historical accounts of events may not provide the
© 2014,
The Criti
cal Thinking
Consortiu
m www
.tc2.ca

broad context to explain the cause; in other words, students should be cautious
when reaching conclusions about historical causes and consequences based on little evidence.

Identify the most important causes and consequences

In preparation for students to draw conclusions about the most important causes Student
activity
sheet

Identifyin Name: ___

and consequences, invite students to use information from their Causes and
Identify g import _________
three cau ant causes _________
cause or ses and and con _________
consequen three con sequences ___
ce a rating sequences
Causes and the that you
n provid deem to
e eviden be import

consequences activity sheet to complete the Identifying important causes and

ce for its ant. Giv
1 importanc e each
2 e below
Not .
at all imp 3
ortant
4
1 5

consequences. Reasons: 2
3
4
very imp
ortant

1
Reasons: 2
3

Form and share judgments

4
5

Invite students to share their judgments of the most important causes and
1
2
Reasons: 3
4
5

consequences. Consequen
ces

Not at all
1
2
importa 3
nt
1 4
2 5
Reasons: 3
very imp
ortant
4
5

Reiterate for students that when they make judgements about the most 1
2

important causes and consequences, they must do so by supporting their claim

Reasons: 3
4
5

with strong evidence in light of the criteria. Remind students of the criteria Reasons:
1
2
3
4

previously established.
5

Learning
about caus
e and cons
equence

9
© 2014,
The Criti
cal Thin
king Cons
ortium
www.tc2.

You might want to tally the responses on the board and discuss explanations
ca

for the differences between student responses (i.e., there are no `right` answers, judgments
differ depending on how evidence is used). In other words, be sure to focus on the quality of student reasoning in
light of criteria rather than specific choices. Discuss with students whether underlying factors or immediate ones
tend to be more important; often it is the former, not the latter.

Revisit everyday life example

An additional option is to invite students in pairs to analyze the causes and consequences they listed earlier
regarding the grade they obtained on a test, using the activity sheet, Identifying important causes and
consequences.

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Learning about cause and consequence

Assess for understanding

In order to assess whether students are beginning to develop an understanding of cause and consequence, you
might use the following activities:
• Listen to student conversations when they are asked to discuss cause and consequence. Are they using
criteria and evidence in their conversations?
• When identifying causes and consequences of historical events, do students choose powerful and relevant
pieces of evidence to support their justifications?
• Examine student use of the activity sheet Identifying important causes and consequences. Have they selected
accurate and relevant evidence? Do their ratings reflect an understanding of the evidence?
• At a later date, when students are once again asked to determine the causes and consequences of a
historical event, do they continue to consider the criteria discussed during this lesson?

TAKING IT FURTHER

The following activities could be used to further develop the concepts of cause and consequence.

• Identify the critical agents of a historical event. For example, what were the causes of Canadian women
being given the right to vote?

• Compare intentions with results. For example, were the results of Gavrilo Princip’s assassination of Archduke
Franz Ferdinand what he hoped they would be?

• Identify significant causes. For example, significant causes of the Great Depression included easy credit,
overspending, stock market speculation and drought.

• Rank order key causes or consequences of an event such as a World War.

• Explore causal interrelationships, such as the causes of civilization collapse, in which there is interplay
between factors such as change in climate, natural disasters, overuse of resources and political changes.

• Assess the impact of a historical event such as European contact with Aboriginal peoples.

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 Student information sheet
Murder of the Donnellys: Cause and consequence

The Donnellys emigrated from Ireland during the 1840s and settled in the township of Biddulph,
near Lucan, Ontario, north of London. Their property did not legally belong to them; they had
“squatted.” It was actually owned by the Canada Company and granted to another settler, James
Grace. There were a number of squabbles about this and several neighbours became involved.
Eventually, James Donnelly Sr., fuelled by liquor at a community logging bee, killed one of these
neighbours with an ice pick. James paid for this crime with seven years in prison; his family paid by
having their reputation sullied forever.

Trouble followed the Donnellys. Their Irish background and their commitment to the Catholic
faith were often at the root of it. Though Roman Catholic, they were friendly to Protestants as well,
which created difficulties. A parish priest could exert tremendous influence over a community and
John Connolly was such a priest. He did not like the Donnellys because they did not conform to his
vision of a proper Catholic. He actively turned the community against them.

The Donnellys` community were accustomed to violence. It would be impossible to list

all of the crimes perpetrated by the Donnelly clan but they were not always the perpetrators;
sometimes they were the victims. Crime was so rampant in Biddulph that in 1859 a local authority
told Attorney General (and future Prime Minister) John A. Macdonald that it was not safe to go
there and recommended travel during daylight hours only. The Donnellys may not have committed
all of the crimes for which they were blamed. Many of their accusers were long-standing enemies
and members of the infamous Vigilance Committee, supposedly created to help prevent crime
in Biddulph. Constable James Carroll, a Donnelly enemy, was involved in this committee. He
encouraged townsfolk to abhor the Donnellys and promised to rid the township of them.

On January 15, 1880 the barns of Patrick “Grouchy” Ryder were burned down. James
Donnelly was falsely accused. On February 3rd, James complained that his family were “blamed
for everything.” That night, thirteen year-old Johnny O’Connor was at the Donnelly homestead,
spending the night so he could feed the animals in the morning while the Donnellys travelled to a
nearby town for a trial hearing about the Ryder barns. He hid under his bed in the middle of the
night, witness to a vicious mob who killed James Sr., his wife, one son and a niece. The mob then set
fire to the cabin before continuing to the home of William Donnelly. William`s brother John awoke
and went to the door to see what was happening. He was mistaken for William and shot dead.

The town of Lucan was shocked when they heard about the murders. Local newspapers
called it “the blackest crime every committed in the Dominion” of Canada. Some lamented the loss;
others celebrated. Local officials arrested 13 people for murder, including James Carroll. The family
home of the eye witness, Johnny O’Connor, was burned to the ground before the trial. The jury
could not come to a decision but preparations began immediately for a second trial in which James
Carroll was given a not guilty verdict.

The Donnelly family moved on with their lives, but they promised to avenge the deaths of
their family members. Two of James` children, Patrick and Jenny, moved away. William and Robert
remained in the Lucan area, becoming both lawmakers and lawbreakers. In 1908, Robert was
admitted to the London Psychiatric Hospital. Interestingly, some of the members of the Vigilance
Committee also suffered violent deaths: a fact William made a note of on his deathbed.

The murder of the Donnellys has fascinated thousands, from the days immediately following
up to the present, with numerous books and a play written about it.
Learning about historical significance 6 © 2014, The Critical Thinking Consortium
 Student activity sheet Name: _________________________________

Web of causes and consequences

Long term
Consequence

Immediate

Event:

Immediate
Cause

Underlying

Learning about cause and consequence 7 © 2014, The Critical Thinking Consortium www.tc2.ca
 Student activity sheet Name: _________________________________
Causes and consequences
Source of information Immediate causes Underlying causes Immediate Long-term
consequences consequences
Introduction to the
Donnelly family
murders
Video and reading
Student discussion
Learning about cause and consequence 8 © 2014, The Critical Thinking Consortium www.tc2.ca
 Student activity sheet Name: _________________________________

Identifying important causes and consequences

Identify three causes and three consequences that you deem to be important. Give each
cause and consequence a rating and then provide evidence for its importance below.
Causes 1 2 3 4 5
Not at all important Very important

1 2 3 4 5
Reasons:

1 2 3 4 5
Reasons:

1 2 3 4 5
Reasons:

Consequences 1 2 3 4 5
Not at all important Very important

1 2 3 4 5
Reasons:

1 2 3 4 5
Reasons:

1 2 3 4 5
Reasons:

Learning about cause and consequence 9 © 2014, The Critical Thinking Consortium www.tc2.ca