Claims, Reasons, Evidence - "I'm a Survivor" Hero of the Zombie Apocalypse
Overview
This is a scaffolded group/collaborative activity within a unit of study on persuasive writing. Students would have already learned what claims, reasons, and evidence are in a previous lesson before participating in this activity. As a group of 4-5 students work together, they will decide which resources would be best to survive a zombie apocalypse. They would then need to compose statements of claim and reasoning for those items and complete some research as well. There is an option to allow students to create posters to present to the class as their final assignment.
English Composition - Persuasive Writing (Claims, Reasons, Evidence)
Objectives: To help students better understand the difference between claims, reasons, and evidence in persuasion. This assignment gives students the opportunity to work together to solve a problem and put together a "Zombie Apocalypse Survival Plan," which could persuade others to join them/agree with them.
Materials: Students should be placed into groups. The materials they would need depend upon how the instructor wishes to present the assignment. The basic materials needed would be paper and pencil, along with the attached handout. However, to create large posters for presenting their claims, reasons, and evidence, you could also include large poster or post-it paper and markers in various colors.
Step-by Step:
- Before starting this activity, you should have gone over the basics of what claims, reasons, and evidence are and how they are used in persuasive writing.
- Divide students into groups of 4-5 each.
- Pass out the attached handout to each group.
- Read the handout out loud together as a class. The instructor can either choose to read it aloud themself or have students volunteer to read.
- Be sure to instruct students to follow the instructions set forth on the handout.
- First, they must figure out together which items they will be keeping and discussing the reasons why these items are necessary. (approx. 5-10 min)
- Next, they must write a claim and a reason for each item they've selected. (5-10 min)
- Finally, they must find evidence that supports their claim and reason. For this, you can opt to allow students to use their phone or device in the classroom to find sources. Also, you could opt to complete this assignment in a computer lab (another fun option is to pair this activity with a lesson in information literacy as well). (10-15 min)
- OPTIONAL: If you have students create a poster to present to the class, then be sure to provide them with enough time to create this poster as a group. (10-15 min)
- Finish off with allowing each group to present their claims, reasons, and evidence for each item they selected. (time varies)