Claims, Reasons and Evidence

Use Supported or Unsupported Claims for discussion, since every claim is short. Then assign the two article sheets, where students trace whole arguments.

Fill a claim, reasons and evidence organizer for the article Every School Needs a Garden. A claim is what an author wants you to believe, reasons explain why, and evidence is the facts and examples that back up each reason. The directions on the page read: Read the article. Then fill in the organizer on page 2. An answer key is included.

Yes, both. We made it for 6th Grade comprehension exercises, and the page works the same whether it lands on a kitchen table or a center rotation. At home, most families go through it together and talk the answers out loud, and that talking is where most of the learning happens with claims and evidence. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

A claim is the idea the author wants you to believe, and evidence is the facts that prove it. In Supported or Unsupported Claims, a bike lane claim is backed by crashes falling from 14 to 5.

It may be true but has nothing to do with the claim. Relevant or Irrelevant Evidence has students cross out details like bottle colors in an argument for water bottles at desks.

Check that each reason has real evidence. Trace an Author's Argument shows that one cousin's feeling about Fridays is not strong enough evidence that students would be happier.