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ENGAGE:
Critical thinking means being able to make good arguments. Forming an argument requires that students understand the elements that make up an argument and how an argument is constructed. Arguments are made up of claims backed by reasons that are supported by evidence.
Claims are statements about what is true, what is good, or what should be done or believed, and they are potentially arguable. Reasons, then, are the statements of support for the claim, which make those claims something more than mere assertions or opinions. The final component is the evidence. Evidence serves as support for the reasons offered and helps compel audiences to accept the claim. Evidence can vary from one academic field or subject to another. Evidence answers challenges to the claim and reasons given, building overall support for the argument.
PREPARATION:
Introduce the elements of an argument and provide examples using a familiar text.
Select a text that contains an argument, conduct a pre-reading activity to introduce students to the content, and give students the opportunity to make personal connections.
Make individual copies of the text and gather sticky notes and chart paper.
STEPS:
NUMBER PARAGRAPHS & UNCOVER MAIN IDEA: Have students number the paragraphs for easy reference and then read through the text to uncover the main idea (author’s claim) and become familiar with the overall organization.
If students have a hard time locating the author’s main point, have them look at the title of the text and reread the first and last paragraphs. Then pose the question, “What does the author want you to believe?”
SHARE CONCLUSION OF MAIN IDEA WITH PARTNER: Ask students to share their conclusion of the author’s main idea with an elbow partner before clarifying as a class. Remind students that the author’s main idea is another name for the author’s claim.
REREAD, LOOKING FOR SUPPORTS: Direct students to reread the selection more closely, looking for support for the author’s main idea. This support can be in the form of reasons or evidence. Students can either highlight the support or annotate next to it.
WRITE SUPPORTS ON STICKY NOTES: Instruct students to work with a partner to write each piece of support on sticky notes so that they can begin to work through determining which are reasons and which are evidence.
DEFINE "REASON": Remind students that reasons are broad support for the author’s claim, whereas the evidence is the specific facts, statistics, analogies, or testimonies that give additional support to the reasons.
DECIDE WHICH SUPPORTS ARE REASONS: Have students work with their partner to decide which pieces of support are the reasons and place those sticky notes at the top of the chart paper.
WORK THROUGH REMAINING STICKY NOTES: Then, ask students to work through the remaining sticky notes by placing the evidence pieces under the reason that they support.
SHARE OUT THEIR CONSTRUCTED ARGUMENT: Have students share out how they deconstructed the argument and, as a class, come to a conclusion on what the author has used as reasons and evidence to support their claim.
VARIATIONS:
Select two readings that provide opposing arguments on the same topic. Divide the class in half and have each side deconstruct their assigned argument. Afterwards, invite students to share out the findings. This can be extended by having students then choose which perspective they agree with and write a reflective paragraph on why.
EXTENSIONS:
Have students construct an argument in opposition to one that has been deconstructed by the class.
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