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Sunrise with the turtles: due to, owing to, as a result and that's why

This B2 ESL lesson plan teaches due to, owing to and because of through the dawn releases of Kemp's ridley sea turtle hatchlings in Texas.

Grammar
Because of, due to and owing to + noun, because, since and as + clause, and As a result, Therefore or That's why to start a result sentence.
Topic
Padre Island National Seashore's hatchling releases, the eggs moved there from Mexico in 1978–1988 and the visitor rules, with words such as incubate, bycatch and ecotourism.
Activities
A field explainer to read, a dawn argument and a teacher's voice memo to hear, self-checking drills, a planning chat, a model trip plan and a question wheel.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: up before the turtles

    • PictureUnlock
    • Open a box and answerOpen the boxUnlock
    • Study the words: turtle morningsVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: busy before breakfast

    • Look at the picture: a release on the beach at dawnPictureUnlock
    • Read Harper's field explainer on The Why DeskArticleUnlock
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: helping or just watching?

    • Listen to Harper and ClementListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to the Reader's Rebuttal: Mariana's voice memoListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: canceled due to high tides

    • Study the scheme: reason and resultGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the right linkerFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: a linker for a noun or for a clauseFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: reason or result?QuizUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's plan: a turtle morning that gives back

    • Choose the right replies: help Beverly plan her tripChatTry it
    • Sort the words into the correct columns: why is each choice smart?Sort into columnsUnlock
    • Put the parts of Harper's model plan in the correct orderDrag and dropUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: your own trip planChoose the optionUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answer: justify your choicesSpin the wheelUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Find the matching pairs: words and meaningsMemory gameUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: new sentencesChoose the optionUnlock
    • Sort the words into the correct columns: what comes next?Sort into columnsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct order: new sentencesUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: which sentence is correct?QuizUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: Harper answers MarianaChoose the optionUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: the Why Desk fact boxDrag and dropUnlock

35 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Vocabulary

12 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • imprint
  • clutch
  • head start
  • bycatch
  • seaweed
  • hotline
  • conservation
  • species
  • ecotourism

Grammar: linkers of reason and result

A reason linker tells you why; a result linker tells you what happens next: Releases can be canceled due to extreme high tides. A beach where tides, rules and turtles can change every plan gives learners a reason for each step. They look at what follows the linker: a noun, a clause or a whole new sentence.

Reason and result: due to the tide, as a result, that's why

A reason linker tells you why something happens; a result linker tells you what happens next. What comes after the linker decides which one you need.

Because of, due to, owing to + noun

Because of, due to, owing to and as a result of take a noun or an -ing form: due to extreme high tides. A clause needs because, since or as, or the formal due to the fact that: because the tides are too high.

The reason: what comes next?

Linker+ what?Example
because / since / asa clause (subject + verb)Releases can be canceled because the tides are too high.
because of / due to / owing toa noun or an -ing formReleases can be canceled due to extreme high tides.
as a result ofa noun or an -ing formAs a result of the 1947 film, scientists could estimate the numbers.
due to / owing to the fact thata clause (more formal)Owing to the fact that you can't drive to the site, you walk.

Noun or clause? Look at what comes next

A noun (the heat, high tides, the 1947 film) or an -ing form: because of, due to, owing to, as a result of. A clause with a subject and a verb (the tide was high): because, since, as, or the formal due to the fact that. You know because and so from A2; these linkers sound more formal and fit articles and reports.

As a result, therefore, that's why

These begin a new sentence with the result: Open nests usually do worse. As a result, staff move them. As a result, Consequently and Therefore take a comma; That's why takes none. Therefore needs a whole clause after it: not therefore of the heat.

The result: a new sentence

LinkerHow to use itExample
As a result, / Consequently,at the start, with a commaOpen nests usually do worse. As a result, staff move them.
Therefore,at the start, or after and, or before the main verbOnly staff may touch hatchlings. Therefore, visitors just watch.
That's why+ a clause, no comma; very common in speechReleases can be canceled. That's why you call the hotline.

Therefore + a clause, never + a noun alone

Therefore and consequently link two ideas, so a whole clause comes next. Never use them with of or with just a noun (not: therefore of the heat, therefore the heat); say because of the heat. Therefore can also come after and, or before the main verb: The tide was high, and therefore the release was canceled. Visitors therefore watch from behind a barrier.

That's why or that's because?

That's why brings in the result: The tide was high. That's why the release was canceled. That's because brings in the reason: The release was canceled. That's because the tide was high. Mix them up, and cause and effect swap places.

That's why + the result

  • The tide was high. That's why the release was canceled.
  • Harper wore white. That's why she zipped up her jacket.

That's because + the reason

  • The release was canceled. That's because the tide was high.
  • Harper zipped up her jacket. That's because she wore white.

Common mistakes

Because of it was windy needs plain because. Due to the reason that should be due to the fact that, and owing never drops its to. As a result of wants a noun: as a result of the rain, or It rained. As a result, …

  • The release was canceled because of it was windy.

    The release was canceled because it was windy.

    because + a clause; because of + a noun (because of the wind)

  • Due to the reason that the tide was high, we waited.

    Due to the fact that the tide was high, we waited.

    due to the fact that, or simply because

  • Owing that the hatchlings weren't ready, we went home.

    Owing to the fact that the hatchlings weren't ready, we went home.

    owing always needs to

  • As a result of it rained, the beach flooded.

    As a result of the rain, the beach flooded.

    as a result of + a noun; with a clause, start a new sentence: It rained. As a result, …

At Padre Island

  • Because of the 1947 film, scientists could estimate how many females came ashore.
  • A release can be canceled due to weather, extreme high tides or flooding.
  • Owing to the risk of a cancellation, the park advises visitors to call the hotline.
  • Open nests usually do worse than protected ones. As a result, staff move the eggs.
  • Only staff and volunteers may touch hatchlings. That's why visitors watch from behind barriers.
  • Harper wore a white T-shirt. Consequently, she zipped up her jacket.

More lessons on this grammar: Linking words lessons and exercises

Try the due to and owing to exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 20 auto-checked exercises
  • 6 games
  • 1 article
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • give a reason with a noun after because of, due to or owing to: A release can be canceled due to weather, extreme high tides or flooding.
  • give a reason with a clause after because, since, as or owing to the fact that: Owing to the fact that you can't drive to the site, you walk.
  • begin a new sentence with the result: Only staff and volunteers may touch hatchlings. That's why visitors watch from behind barriers.
  • tell that's why from that's because, and fix because of it was and owing that: The release was canceled. That's because the tide was high.
  • plan a responsible trip and give a reason for every choice: I'll take the bus, not my car, because of the small parking lots near the trails.

Lesson 19 is the third lesson of Travel that gives back, unit 5 of English B2.2 · Culture and Society. It takes because and so from A2.1 lesson 28 into formal English, and one quiz item sets a reason against the purpose of lesson 17's so that. Lesson 20 closes the unit with verb + object + preposition + -ing. A release that the weather can cancel turns every plan into a chain of reasons.

Students open boxes of questions about wildlife and responsible trips, then learn twelve words, from cancel and patrol to bycatch and ecotourism, with pictures and audio. They read Harper's explainer on the turtle mornings at Padre Island, then hear her ask Clement, a volunteer and former shrimper, whether visitors help, and Mariana, a teacher from San Antonio, ask for school groups to go first; both are AI-voiced. The grammar chapter has the scheme and five self-checking exercises, among them a table of reasons with a noun or a clause. The planning chapter breaks the trip task into steps: Beverly's chat, reasons to sort, a model plan to order, a plan with options and a wheel of questions.

All ten homework tasks check themselves: a word match, an anagram, gaps with the lesson's words and a memory game, then linkers to choose and to sort by what follows them, word order, a quiz on the correct sentence, Harper's answer to Mariana with options and a Kemp's ridley fact box with words to drag in.

Grammar:
linkers of reason and result · because of, due to, owing to · as a result, consequently, therefore · that's why · because, since, as
Topic:
Padre Island National Seashore · Kemp's ridley sea turtles · hatchling releases · responsible travel · the impact of tourism · travel that gives back · The Why Desk

Teaching tips

  • Write three sentence frames on the board: … the storm, … it was stormy and It was stormy. … we stayed home. Students place each linker under its frame before they open the scheme.
  • Ask what could cancel an outdoor event before the reading. Students list ideas, then compare them with the park's reasons: weather, extreme high tides, flooding and hatchlings that aren't ready.
  • Stop the dialogue at every question: why Harper zips her jacket, why she called the hotline, why the hatchlings crawl. Students answer each one with a different linker of reason.
  • Have students write their own trip plan after Harper's model: a place, four choices and a reason for each. A partner checks that every linker fits what follows it.

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The whole course: English B2.2 · Culture and Society

32 more lessons for adults at B2 in American English, with the same Why Desk team in Pittsburgh. Each lesson answers one question about how Americans learn, work, travel and remember, from the law behind the 40-hour week to the oral histories of StoryCorps. Learners link ideas in formal writing, report what is said and believed, and pack more into a sentence with participle and relative clauses. The practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Learning reimagined

    adjective suffixes and negative prefixes, mixed conditionals, provided that and on condition that

    1. Lesson 1College for farmers' kids?Adjective suffixes and negative prefixes
    2. Lesson 2One cousin, one video, millions of learnersMixed conditionals: a past cause, a result now
    3. Lesson 3A college that says yesConditional linkers: provided that, on condition that, assuming, otherwise
    4. Lesson 4School in the woodsMixed conditionals: a present state, a past result

  2. Unit 2 Work-life balance

    be required to and be entitled to, present and perfect participle clauses, participle clauses after conjunctions

    1. Lesson 5Who decided a week is 40 hours?Formal rules: be required to, be entitled to, be exempt from
    2. Lesson 6A paid year off: rest or research?Present participle clauses for time and reason
    3. Lesson 7Was the coffee break born in Wisconsin?Perfect participle clauses: having done and having been done
    4. Lesson 8Why is the first Monday of September a day off?Participle phrases after conjunctions

  3. Unit 3 Turning points

    reduced relative clauses, preposition + which and whom, which for a whole clause, noun + preposition

    1. Lesson 9The keyboard that opened the officeReduced relative clauses: -ing and the past participle
    2. Lesson 10Earthrise: the photo that changed how we see EarthPreposition + which and whom
    3. Lesson 11A city of white palaces for six monthsSentence relative clauses: which for a whole clause
    4. Lesson 12The count that took eight years?Noun + preposition: a need for, a solution to, access to

  4. Unit 4 News and truth

    although, whereas and while, the impersonal passive, despite and however, is said to have

    1. Lesson 13A newspaper of their ownLinkers of contrast: although, even though, whereas and while
    2. Lesson 14Bat-people on the Moon?The impersonal passive: It is said that…
    3. Lesson 15Read like a fact-checkerLinkers of contrast: despite, in spite of, however and even so
    4. Lesson 16Did George Washington really chop down a cherry tree?Passive reporting verbs: is said to have done

  5. Unit 5 Travel that gives back

    so as to, in order to and so that, modifying comparatives, linkers of reason and result, verb + object + preposition + -ing

    1. Lesson 17Seven rules for the wild?Linkers of purpose: to, in order to, so as to, so that
    2. Lesson 18A lottery to see firefliesModifying comparatives and superlatives
    3. Lesson 19 · you're hereSunrise with the turtlesLinkers of reason and result
    4. Lesson 20Volunteer on vacation?Verb + object + preposition + -ing

  6. Unit 6 Sport and society

    verb + noun collocations, what phrasal verb particles mean, a for-and-against essay, nouns from phrasal verbs

    1. Lesson 21The college team that changed disability sportVerb + noun collocations
    2. Lesson 22When women played pro baseballPhrasal verbs: what the particles mean
    3. Lesson 23Who needs a referee?The for and against essay: plan and linkers
    4. Lesson 24The comeback of Jim ThorpeNouns from phrasal verbs

  7. Unit 7 Buildings and heritage

    past participle clauses, quantifier + of which and of whom, report language, turn out and prove

    1. Lesson 25Homes built into the cliffsPast participle clauses with a passive meaning
    2. Lesson 26A house over a waterfallQuantifier + of which and of whom
    3. Lesson 27From factory to art museumReport language: headings, impersonal style, recommendations
    4. Lesson 28The towers the city tried to pull downTurn out and prove + to-infinitive or that clause

  8. Unit 8 Generations

    adverb + adjective collocations, three-part phrasal verbs, negative and echo questions, prepositional phrases

    1. Lesson 29Who decides where a generation ends?Adverb + adjective collocations
    2. Lesson 30Music students living in a retirement home?Three-part phrasal verbs
    3. Lesson 31Conversations kept for historyNegative questions and echo questions
    4. Lesson 32A day for grandparentsFixed prepositional phrases

Questions about this lesson

What's the difference between “due to” and “because of”?
In meaning, almost none: both give a reason and take a noun or an -ing form. The race was canceled because of the storm and due to the storm say the same thing; due to sounds more formal and is common in notices. Neither takes a clause: say because it was stormy or due to the fact that it was stormy. The B2 lesson Sunrise with the turtles on edio.ai practices both.
What does “owing to” mean?
Owing to means “because of,” in a formal style, and a noun follows it: Owing to the risk of a cancellation, the park advises visitors to call the hotline. Before a clause, say owing to the fact that: Owing to the fact that you can't drive to the site, you walk. Owing that and owing the rain are wrong. Both examples come from the scheme of Sunrise with the turtles on edio.ai.
How do you use “due to” in a sentence?
Put due to before a noun or an -ing form, at the start with a comma or after the main clause: Due to extreme high tides, the release was canceled. A release can be canceled due to weather or flooding. It can also follow be: The delay was due to fog. With a clause, use due to the fact that. Sunrise with the turtles on edio.ai sets it beside because, since and as.
Is it “because of it was” or “because it was”?
It's because it was: a clause takes because without of. Say The release was canceled because it was windy, or, with a noun, because of the wind. The same test fixes due to it rained (due to the rain) and As a result of it rained (It rained. As a result, …). Many wrong replies in the chat of Sunrise with the turtles on edio.ai are slips of this kind.
How do you use “therefore” and “as a result”?
Both start a new sentence about the result, with a comma: Open nests usually do worse. As a result, staff move the eggs. Only staff may touch hatchlings. Therefore, visitors just watch. Therefore can also follow and or sit before the main verb: Visitors therefore watch from behind a barrier. Never put of or a bare noun after it. Sunrise with the turtles on edio.ai adds Consequently and That's why.
What is a Kemp's ridley sea turtle?
The Kemp's ridley is the smallest sea turtle, and Padre Island National Seashore calls it the most endangered sea turtle in the world. It nests mostly in the daytime, which is unusual for sea turtles. Scientists estimated from a film that about 40,000 females came ashore on one Mexican beach in 1947; by 1985, there were only 702 nests worldwide. Bycatch in fishing gear is the biggest threat. Sunrise with the turtles on edio.ai tells the story.
When can you watch a sea turtle release at Padre Island?
Releases usually begin in mid-June, on a few early mornings through the summer, mostly at 6:45 a.m. on Malaquite Beach, near Corpus Christi, Texas. The park announces the dates each year, and weather, extreme high tides or flooding can cancel a release, so visitors call the hatchling hotline first. Only staff and volunteers may handle hatchlings, and white clothing, flashlights and food are not allowed. Sunrise with the turtles on edio.ai lists the rules.
How do I teach linkers of reason and result to B2 students?
Begin with a plan that can go wrong, such as a trip that the weather could cancel, and ask Why? and So what happens? at each step. Sort the answers by what follows the linker: a noun, a clause or a new sentence. Sunrise with the turtles on edio.ai moves from Harper's explainer and her talk with Clement to the scheme, five drills and a trip plan built step by step.
What's a good game for practicing due to and as a result?
Try a chain of consequences: one student names an event (The bus broke down.), the next adds a result with As a result or That's why, and the next explains it with because of or due to. A wrong linker breaks the chain. For speaking, the wheel in Sunrise with the turtles on edio.ai asks students to justify choices, such as their plans after a canceled release.
What's good homework for linkers of reason and result?
Good homework makes students decide what follows each linker: a sort into noun, clause and new-sentence columns, choices between because and because of, and a quiz that spots owing that. All ten homework tasks in Sunrise with the turtles on edio.ai check themselves; the last two are Harper's answer to Mariana and a fact box on the Kemp's ridley.
How do you practice due to and because of one-to-one?
Let the student plan a trip and defend it: for every choice, the teacher asks Why?, and the student answers with because of, due to or since. Then swap: the teacher explains a choice, and the student gives the result with That's why. The chat in Sunrise with the turtles on edio.ai needs no partner: Beverly plans a release morning with her little brother, and the student gives the reasons.
Are there interactive exercises for due to and owing to?
Yes. With no account, this page plays three parts of Sunrise with the turtles, a B2 lesson on edio.ai: Harper's dawn talk with Clement, a gap-fill that asks for the right linker and Beverly's chat about her turtle trip. The rest opens with an account.
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