The Using Sources Tool (UST) is a formative assessment tool that teachers use in the middle of a Cycle of Instruction to provide a focused look at the quality of students’ claims and how they select and use evidence from sources.
This relatively simple protocol has proven valuable in helping teachers examine student argument writing more broadly than the Using Sources Tool, focusing not only on using sources but on developing strong claims and reasoning. This tool is designed for use after students have written several source-based arguments.