The Three Sisters: Cause and Effect Reading Comprehension

Corn, beans, and squash. For some Native Americans, planting these three vegetables together led to good harvests. For that reason, they called the vegetables “The Three Sisters.”

Before the Iroquois planted gardens, they lived by hunting and gathering. They hunted animals and gathered fruits or vegetables they found. As the seasons changed, they had to move from place to place to gather fresh produce. But when they began to plant crops, they could stay in one place. Women stayed in villages and planted the crops while men hunted. Life changed for these Native Americans.

Before long, the Iroquois learned that when they planted corn, beans, and squash together, all of the crops thrived. So they planted beans and squash in between the corn plants.

These people probably didn’t know the science behind their plantings. But by observing their gardens, they learned what grew well together. Squash grew large leaves, which shielded the soil from the sun. Without sun, no weeds grew under the squash. Beans made the soil healthy for the other crops. Scientists later determined that the roots of bean plants contain nitrogen, which makes the soil richer. Some kinds of beans grow upward like vines and need to hold onto something. Corn stalks served as poles for the beans to grow. And nitrogen from the beans made the stalks grow stronger.