Learning Objectives

In this sampling from an Introduction to Science Unit for middle school students, 7 experiment activities are showcased which build students' abilities to make claims, support them with factual, scientific evidence, and then provide reasoning, the scientific concepts which tie together their claims and evidence.  The worksheets provided scaffold the students through multiple choice selections in order to best support them as they learn to write responses to scientific questions in the Claims, Evidence and Reasoning format.

Standards Addressed

Connection to PA Common Core: Writing in Science and Technical Subjects – In Common Core 3.6.6-8.A students are to be able to write arguments focused on disciple specific content.  The subsections of this common core ask that students, “introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue” and “support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and evidence that demonstrate an understanding of the topic,” as well as “use words, phrases and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons and evidence.”  Through the Claims, Evidence and Reasoning (CER) model used in this unit, students are creating claims that they support with evidence and provide scientific facts as reasoning.

Preparation Time Needed

Varies by activity.

Class Time Required

6 week unit

Attachment	Size
Scaffolding for CER materials	457.99 KB