Research Writing Game and Activity for Evaluating Claims and Evidence
- PDF
What educators are saying
Also included in
These fun and engaging middle-school ELA games are the perfect way to review concepts with your students during class. Days between vacations, picture days, half days, ends of the quarter -- they don't have to be a waste of time! I love to use these days to review concepts we've learned throughoutPrice $67.72Original Price $84.65Save $16.93
If your students think English Language Arts is boring, they need to think again. This bundle of 100+ fun and engaging ELA resources will keep your middle school students learning and laughing all year long! _____________________________________________________________________________________"NoooooPrice $299.97Original Price $435.28Save $135.31
If your students think essays are boring, they need to think again. These engaging activities and catchy posters capture students' interest and help them improve their essay writing -- all while having fun.What's included?✔️ A fun essay-hooks game to familiarize your students with the types of hooksPrice $43.36Original Price $54.20Save $10.84
Middle school essays don't have to be boring, intimidating, or the end of your personal life. In fact, these essays can become some of your students' favorite memories from middle school while you are free to make memories of your own!Twelve guided essays walk your students through the essay-writingPrice $92.01Original Price $131.45Save $39.44
Description
Do your students struggle to support their claims with logical evidence and credible sources? Do their papers feel more like a research soup than a logically organized argument? This engaging game and activity help students think critically about claims, evidence, sources, and organization.
First, the class is split into two teams. One team is for chewing gum at school, while the other team is against it. The two teams compete in a relay race to collect cards with claims and evidence that support their stance on the issue. As they collect their cards, they match their evidence cards to the claims they support.
Once both teams have collected and organized adequate support for their arguments, they take a look at the sources that are cited in their evidence. Each source has its own "reference card," and the students order these references according to the following:
- most recent to least recent
- most qualified to least qualified
- most convincing to least convincing.
This leads to important discussions about the credibility of sources, why convincing evidence is needed, and what it takes to persuade a reader.
The class then takes a stand (quite literally) on the gum-chewing issue as they split up and stand on one side of the room if they are pro-gum and on the other if they are anti-gum.
As an optional extension activity, the class then prepares for a structured debate, using evidence from the gum-chewing game and evidence that they find through their own research. As the students participate in their debate, they use what they have learned about claims, evidence, credible sources, and organization.
What's included?
- 2 Pages of teacher tips to guide you through the game, activity, and extension activity
- 3 Pro-gum claim cards for students to collect and organize
- 9 Pro-gum evidence cards with citations
- 3 Anti-gum claim cards
- 9 Anti-gum evidence cards
- 7 Pro-gum reference cards for students to evaluate for credibility
- 8 Anti-gum reference cards
- "Most Recent" and "Least Recent" labels for reference evaluation
- "Most Qualified" and "Least Qualified" labels
- "Most Convincing" and "Least Convincing" labels
- 1 Debate structure handout for students to follow in the optional extension activity
- 1 Debate grading sheet for quick and easy assessment
Help your students become critical researchers and writers with this fun and engaging lesson!
A Distinguished English Resource
Created by Olivia Gold
Standards
Reviews
Questions & Answers
