Standards Alignment
- TEKS.110.24.06J primary
defend or challenge the authors' claims using relevant text evidence.
Companion Video Lesson
This text lesson has a separate video watch page so search engines and learners can treat the written lesson and the video lesson as distinct resources.
Open the dedicated video lesson page
Lesson Overview
This Grade 8 English Language Arts and Reading lesson focuses on helping students defend or challenge authors' claims by using relevant evidence from texts. It aligns with TEKS.110.24.06J and develops students' response skills through reading, speaking, and writing activities. The lesson includes direct teaching, guided practice, and reflection, enabling students to engage with multiple texts and articulate their reasoning clearly and accurately.
Learning Objectives
- Identify authors' claims in a text.
- Locate relevant text evidence that supports or contradicts the authors' claims.
- Use text evidence to defend or challenge the authors' claims in oral and written responses.
- Explain reasoning clearly by connecting claims and evidence.
Success Criteria
- Students can accurately identify claims made by authors in a given text.
- Students can find and cite relevant evidence from the text to support or challenge claims.
- Students can construct clear oral or written arguments defending or challenging claims using evidence.
- Students can explain how the evidence supports or contradicts the claims logically.
Prerequisite Knowledge
Students should be able to read grade-level texts with comprehension, understand the concept of a claim as a statement or opinion an author makes, and be familiar with citing evidence from texts to support ideas.
Key Vocabulary
- Claim
- Evidence
- Defend
- Challenge
- Support
- Contradict
- Text
- Reasoning
Materials and Resources
- Copies of a short mentor text with clear claims (print or digital)
- Graphic organizer for claim and evidence
- Whiteboard or chart paper
- Markers
- Student notebooks or writing paper
Teacher Preparation
- Select a short mentor text that contains clear claims and supporting details.
- Prepare a graphic organizer to help students record claims and evidence.
- Prepare guiding questions to prompt student thinking about claims and evidence.
- Arrange classroom seating to facilitate discussion and group work.
Detailed Lesson Notes
Understanding Authors' Claims
An author's claim is the main point or argument the author wants to convince the reader to accept. Claims can be opinions or statements presented as true. Identifying claims is the first step in analyzing a text critically. For example, in an article about recycling, the author might claim that recycling helps reduce pollution.
Relevant Text Evidence
Text evidence consists of facts, details, or examples from the text that support or contradict a claim. Relevant evidence directly relates to the claim and helps the reader decide whether to accept or reject it. Evidence can be quotations, statistics, or descriptions found in the text.
Defending and Challenging Claims
To defend a claim means to support it using evidence from the text. To challenge a claim means to question or disagree with it by showing evidence that contradicts or weakens the claim. Both defending and challenging require careful selection of relevant evidence and clear explanation of how the evidence relates to the claim.
Using a Graphic Organizer
A graphic organizer can help students organize their thinking by listing the claim, supporting evidence, and reasoning. For example, one column can state the claim, the next column lists evidence from the text, and the last column explains how the evidence supports or challenges the claim. This visual aid helps students structure their responses logically.
Common Misconceptions
Students may confuse a claim with a fact; a claim is an argument or opinion, while facts are verifiable truths. Another misconception is using evidence that is unrelated or only loosely connected to the claim. Emphasize the importance of choosing evidence that clearly supports or contradicts the claim and explaining the connection.
Worked Examples
Worked Example 1
Scenario
Read the following claim from a text: "Recycling reduces pollution in our environment." Find one piece of evidence from the text that supports this claim and explain why it supports it.
Explanation
To answer, students must locate a detail in the text that shows how recycling helps reduce pollution, such as a statistic about waste reduction or a description of pollution decrease. Then they explain that this evidence supports the claim because it shows a positive effect of recycling on pollution.
Answer Guide
One piece of evidence is that recycling reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills, which lowers pollution levels. This supports the claim because it shows recycling directly helps reduce pollution.
Engage
Teacher Activity
Introduce the concept of an author's claim by presenting a simple statement and asking students if they agree or disagree and why.
Student Activity
Listen and share opinions about the statement, discussing what makes it a claim.
Explanation
This phase activates prior knowledge about opinions and arguments and sets the stage for identifying claims in texts.
Examples
- Students recognize claims as statements that express opinions or arguments.
- Students share examples of claims from everyday life.
Explore
Teacher Activity
Read a short mentor text aloud or have students read silently. Guide students to identify the author's claim(s) and underline or highlight them.
Student Activity
Read the text and mark the sentences that state the author's claim(s).
Explanation
Students practice locating claims in a real text, reinforcing understanding of what a claim looks like.
Examples
- Students highlight sentences that express the author's main argument.
- Students explain why those sentences are claims.
Explain
Teacher Activity
Model how to find relevant evidence by rereading the text and selecting details that support or challenge the claim. Use a graphic organizer to record the claim and evidence.
Student Activity
Work with the teacher to fill in the graphic organizer with claims and supporting evidence from the text.
Explanation
This phase teaches students to connect claims with specific evidence and organize their thoughts clearly.
Examples
- Students identify specific sentences or facts as evidence.
- Students explain how the evidence relates to the claim.
Elaborate
Teacher Activity
Have students write or orally share a response defending or challenging the author's claim using the evidence recorded in the graphic organizer.
Student Activity
Write a paragraph or present an oral argument that defends or challenges the claim using text evidence.
Explanation
Students apply their understanding by constructing arguments that use evidence to support their position.
Examples
- Students produce clear arguments that link claims and evidence.
- Students explain their reasoning logically.
Evaluate
Teacher Activity
Ask students to share their responses and explain their reasoning. Provide feedback on their use of evidence and clarity of argument.
Student Activity
Present their defense or challenge of the claim and respond to questions or feedback.
Explanation
This phase assesses students' ability to defend or challenge claims using relevant evidence and clear reasoning.
Examples
- Students articulate their reasoning clearly.
- Students demonstrate understanding of claim-evidence relationships.
Classroom Activity
Read the text and mark the sentences that state the author's claim(s).
Guided Practice
Guided Practice 1
Prompt
What is an author's claim?
Teacher Answer Guide
An author's claim is the main argument or point the author wants the reader to believe or accept.
Guided Practice 2
Prompt
How do you find relevant evidence to support a claim?
Teacher Answer Guide
By looking for facts, details, or examples in the text that directly relate to and back up the claim.
Guided Practice 3
Prompt
Why is it important to explain how evidence supports or challenges a claim?
Teacher Answer Guide
Because it shows understanding of the connection between the claim and evidence and makes the argument convincing.
Guided Practice 4
Prompt
What does it mean to challenge a claim?
Teacher Answer Guide
To question or disagree with the claim by showing evidence that contradicts or weakens it.
Guided Practice 5
Prompt
How can a graphic organizer help when defending or challenging claims?
Teacher Answer Guide
It helps organize claims, evidence, and reasoning clearly so the argument is easier to understand and explain.
Independent Practice
- Foundational: What is an author's claim in a text?
- Developing: Identify the claim in this sentence: "School uniforms improve student focus and reduce distractions."
- Application: Read a short paragraph and find one piece of evidence that supports the author's claim. Then explain how the evidence supports the claim.
- Analysis: Explain how you would challenge an author's claim if you found evidence in the text that contradicts it.
- Challenge: Write a paragraph defending or challenging an author's claim using at least two pieces of relevant text evidence and explain your reasoning.
Independent Practice Teacher Answer Key
- 1. An author's claim is the main point or argument the author is trying to convince the reader to accept.
- 2. The claim is that school uniforms improve student focus and reduce distractions.
- 3. Students should identify a sentence or fact in the paragraph that relates directly to the claim and explain that it supports the claim by providing proof or examples.
- 4. I would point out the contradictory evidence and explain how it shows the claim might not be true or is incomplete, providing specific examples from the text.
- 5. Students should write a clear argument that states their position, includes two pieces of evidence from the text, and explains how each piece supports or challenges the claim logically.
Guiding Questions
- What is an author's claim?
- How do you find evidence that supports or challenges a claim?
- Why is it important to use evidence when defending or challenging a claim?
- How can you explain your reasoning clearly?
- What makes evidence relevant to a claim?
Common Misconceptions
- A claim is the same as a fact (a claim is an argument or opinion, not necessarily a fact).
- Any detail from the text can be used as evidence (evidence must be relevant and directly support or challenge the claim).
- Defending a claim means agreeing with it without considering evidence (defending requires using evidence to support the claim logically).
Differentiation
Support and Intervention
Provide sentence starters for identifying claims and evidence. Use graphic organizers to help organize thoughts visually. Allow oral responses instead of written for students who need it.
English-Language Learner Support
Pre-teach key vocabulary with visuals and examples. Use bilingual texts if available. Pair ELL students with peers for discussion and support.
Advanced and Extension
Challenge students to find evidence that both supports and contradicts a claim. Encourage writing more complex arguments with multiple pieces of evidence. Have students compare claims from different texts on the same topic.
Assessment
- Observe students during guided reading and discussion to check understanding of claims and evidence.
- Review graphic organizers for accurate identification of claims and relevant evidence.
- Listen to students' oral responses defending or challenging claims.
- Write one claim from today's text and one piece of evidence that supports or challenges it.
- Explain in one or two sentences why the evidence is relevant to the claim.
- Write an essay defending or challenging an author's claim using multiple pieces of text evidence and clear reasoning.
Answer Guide
- What is an author's claim?
Answer: An author's claim is the main argument or point the author wants the reader to believe or accept. - How do you find relevant evidence to support a claim?
Answer: By looking for facts, details, or examples in the text that directly relate to and back up the claim. - Why is it important to explain how evidence supports or challenges a claim?
Answer: Because it shows understanding of the connection between the claim and evidence and makes the argument convincing. - What does it mean to challenge a claim?
Answer: To question or disagree with the claim by showing evidence that contradicts or weakens it. - How can a graphic organizer help when defending or challenging claims?
Answer: It helps organize claims, evidence, and reasoning clearly so the argument is easier to understand and explain.
Real-Life Application
Encourage students to discuss a claim they hear on TV or from family members and practice defending or challenging it with reasons and examples.
Homework or Home Connection
- Encourage students to discuss a claim they hear on TV or from family members and practice defending or challenging it with reasons and examples.
Lesson Summary
In this lesson, students learn to identify authors' claims in texts and use relevant evidence to defend or challenge those claims. They practice reading, speaking, and writing skills by organizing their thoughts with graphic organizers and constructing clear arguments. This skill helps students think critically about texts and communicate their ideas effectively.
Teacher Notes
Use the exact standards alignment and retrieved-source provenance stored with this enrichment.