Claim Evidence Reasoning

An Overview
Why use Claim Evidence Reasoning?
Engages students and encourages analytical thinking and
justification.
Helps students develop a deeper understanding of science content.
Improves students ability to justify their written claims.
A cross curricular process.
A scientific explanation is a written response to a
question that requires students to make observations,
analyze and interpret data with regard to scientific
knowledge.
The CER framework includes three components: claim,
evidence, and reasoning.
Scientific Explanation
The claim is a statement that answers the original
question.
The claim must be accurate, specific, and answer
the question.
Claim
The evidence is scientific data that supports your
claim.
This data can come from an investigation that
students complete or from another source, such
as observations, reading material, archived data,
or other sources of information.
Evidence
Reasoning is a justification that shows why the
data counts as evidence to support the claim and
includes appropriate scientific principles.
Reasoning
Rebuttal recognizes and describes alternative
explanations, and provides counter evidence and
reasoning for why the alternative explanation is
not the appropriate answer for the question or
problem.
In other words, a rebuttal describes the alternative explanation, but provides
counter (scientific) evidence and reasoning for why the alternative
explanation is not correct.
Rebuttal
Table from Framework
for Constructing
Scientific Explanations
Claim-Evidence Examples
Claim: I use my senses to
observe properties of objects.
Evidence:
Properties of my eraser
Looks
Color pink
Shape - rectangle
Feels smooth - bends
Drop and hear thump,
thump
Smells - rubbery
Claim: I can use my senses to
observe properties of objects.
Evidence: My erasers properties -
First I used my eyes to look. My
erasers color is pink. Its shape is
like a box. Next I used my hands to
feel it. It is smooth. It can bend. I
smell it with my nose. It smells like
rubber. Then I used my ears to
describe the sound it made when I
dropped it. It bounced a little and
sounded like a thump, thump.
Grade Level Progression for Argumentation
Grade Argumentation Focus
K-2
Claim + Evidence
Claim Make conclusions from investigations.
Evidence Use observations from investigations.
3-5
Claim + Evidence + Reasoning
Claim Make conclusions.
Evidence - Use observations and measurements.
Reasoning Provide a simple connection between claim and evidence using the big ideas they have learned in science.
6-8
Claim + Evidence + Reasoning (greater complexity)
Claim Make conclusions.
Evidence - Use observations and measurements. Distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate data. Consider sufficiency of
evidence.
Reasoning Provide a justification for why the evidence supports the claim using scientific principles.
9-12
Claim + Evidence + Reasoning + Rebuttal
Claim Make conclusions.
Evidence - Use observations and measurements. Distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate data. Consider sufficiency of
evidence.
Reasoning Provide a justification for why the evidence supports the claim using scientific principles. Each piece of evidence may
have a different justification.
Rebuttal Describe why a counter-claim is not appropriate by critiquing the alternative evidence and reasoning.
Grades 3-5 Example of Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER)
Assignment: What properties can be used to classify your school
supplies?
Claim: My school supplies can be classified by their mass, length, shape,
texture, and attraction to magnets.
Evidence: (Record all the evidence you gathered from hands-on
investigations).
Data: School Supplies Observations Table
School
Supplies/Qty.
Mass Length Shape Texture Magnetic?
Pencil (1) 5 grams 16 cm Hexagonal prism smooth/hard part
Scissor (1) 26 grams 13 cm Irregular Smooth/hard part
Crayon (1) 4 grams 9 cm cylinder Smooth/hard No
Marker (1) 10 grams 16 cm cylinder Smooth/hard No
Glue stick (1) 16 grams 8 cm cylinder Smooth/hard No
Reasoning: (Write a statement that explains why you think
your claim or answer to the question is right.)
My school supplies can be classified by their mass, length, shape,
texture, and attraction to magnets. As a result of measuring my
supplies I learned some are greater in mass than others. For
example, two of the five objects had a mass of less than 10 grams
compared to the other three objects that were up to 26 grams. Next
using my senses of sight and touch, I discovered that I could not sort
my objects by texture. They were all smooth and hard. However, the
objects could be classified by shape such as regular versus
irregular. Some had parts that were magnetic. My evidence supports
my claim because objects and materials can be compared to one
another based on their observable properties.
Rubric with Rebuttal
Taken From Supporting Grade 5-8
Students in Constructing Explanations
in Science: The Claim, Evidence, and
Reasoning Framework for Talk and
Writing by Katherine McNeill and
Joseph Krajcik (2012).