Correct Response: D. When children use causal conjunctions, they demonstrate that they understand and can express a causal relationship supported by evidence or a reason (e.g., "She did X because…," "X didn't work, so she did Y."). If children do not explicitly state connections between characters and events, the teacher cannot assume the children understand the causal relationships in the story. Option A is incorrect because details about events do not necessarily demonstrate an understanding about what caused the event or how it affects the characters in the story. Option B is incorrect because the use of sequence words provides evidence of children’s understanding of the chronology or sequence of events in the story but does not provide evidence of their understanding of causal relationships between characters and events in the story. Option C is incorrect because questions direct children's responses. If the teacher asks a question that requires children to think about causality, then the teacher is directing the children to make causal connections. Questioning can be an effective instructional strategy for supporting students in learning how to make connections between characters and events; however, this is not an effective assessment strategy for determining whether children understand the causal relationships in the story on their own, without teacher prompting.
