Claims supported by reasons/evidence and claims that are not

General

In this lesson, students will learn how to recognize when claims are supported by evidence. They will read several passages and identify the claims and evidence. They will also write their own paragraphs to support claims.

Standards

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.8

Learning objective

Students will be able to distinguish between claims that are supported by evidence and claims that are not.

Introduction

Students will review the concepts of claim and evidence. They will read the statement, "About 80% of plastic water bottles are never recycled," and decide whether it is a claim or evidence. Ask students why it is important to distinguish between claims supported by evidence and claims that are not.

Instruction

Students will read an example of a claim supported by evidence (a paragraph about going to the beach) and a claim not supported by evidence (a paragraph about the park being better than the beach). They will read a passage about Kobe Bryant and highlight the evidence that supports the claim, "Kobe Bryant is the best basketball player of all time."

Next, they will read a passage about coal mining and determine if the claim is supported by evidence. They will read two other passages about the environment and pets to determine if the claims are supported by evidence. Students will also read the claim: "Pickup trucks should be banned from public roads," and drag sentences that support the claim to boxes labeled "Evidence." They will then write evidence to support this claim, "Students in middle school should be able to vote in U.S. elections." They will also rewrite a response for a paragraph about soda bans in schools.

Quiz

Students will respond to 10 questions which ask them to determine if statements are claims or evidence, and to select which evidence can support a claim.

Closing

Students will recall:
- What makes good evidence?
- Why is it important to include strong reasons and evidence after a claim? How does it affect the reader?

Lastly, students will write a paragraph with a claim that is supported by strong reasons and evidence about where they would like to go on their next field trip.

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