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English lesson plan · 8th grade (Year 9 in England) · 45 minutes

Is the evidence relevant and sufficient?

Reading Comprehension

CCSS RI.8.8CCSS W.8.1.BEngland: KS3 Reading (evaluating arguments)England: GCSE English Language Paper 2 Q4

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Is the evidence relevant and sufficient?.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Parts of an argument: claim, reason, evidence, counterclaim, rebuttal

Leads to: Spotting faulty reasoning: bandwagon, slippery slope, ad hominem…; Counterclaims and rebuttals in arguments; Spotting misleading statistics and graphs

Materials: A short text or extract (one copy each), Highlighters, Question cards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 5 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Parts of an argument: claim, reason, evidence, counterclaim, rebuttal). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. What role does this sentence play in an argument? Critics say bike lanes take space away from drivers. (claim / reason / evidence / counterclaim) → counterclaimPrompt: Is it the writer's main position, an explanation why, a fact/figure/example, the other side's view, or a reply to the other side?
  2. Which sentence works as this part of an argument: claim? (After one city added protected lanes, cycling there rose by 60 per cent in a year. / Our town needs more bike lanes. / In one study, students who started later slept about 45 minutes more a night.) → Our town needs more bike lanes.Prompt: Is it the writer's main position, an explanation why, a fact/figure/example, the other side's view, or a reply to the other side?
  3. What role does this sentence play in an argument? After one city added protected lanes, cycling there rose by 60 per cent in a year. (reason / evidence / counterclaim / rebuttal) → evidencePrompt: Is it the writer's main position, an explanation why, a fact/figure/example, the other side's view, or a reply to the other side?

Hook · 5 min

  • Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
  • Share the objective: Is the evidence relevant and sufficient?. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Judge the evidence for this claim. Claim: Our school should switch to LED lights. Evidence: My uncle has LED lights at home.
  • Step 1: Strong evidence is both relevant (on the point) and sufficient (enough to be convincing).
  • Step 2: It is on topic but a single personal example proves very little.
  • Step 3: So the answer is: relevant but not sufficient
  • Answer: relevant but not sufficient
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Judge the evidence for this claim. Claim: Our school should switch to LED lights. Evidence: LED stands for light-emitting diode. (relevant and sufficient / relevant but not sufficient / not relevant) → not relevantPrompt: Relevant: is the evidence actually about the claim?
  2. Which claim and evidence pair matches this judgement: relevant but not sufficient? (Claim: Our school should switch to LED lights. Evidence: LED stands for light-emitting diode. / Claim: The new reading app improves reading scores. Evidence: One pupil said she reads more now. / Claim: Cycling to school is safe in our town. Evidence: Cycling was invented in the 19th century.) → Claim: The new reading app improves reading scores. Evidence: One pupil said she reads more now.Prompt: Relevant: is the evidence actually about the claim?

You do: independent practice · 10 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Which claim and evidence pair matches this judgement: not relevant? (Claim: The new reading app improves reading scores. Evidence: In a term-long trial across 12 classes, pupils using the app improved more than similar pupils who did not. / Claim: The beach needs more bins. Evidence: The beach is popular. / Claim: Cycling to school is safe in our town. Evidence: Cycling was invented in the 19th century.) → Claim: Cycling to school is safe in our town. Evidence: Cycling was invented in the 19th century.Prompt: Relevant: is the evidence actually about the claim?
  2. Judge the evidence for this claim. Claim: Our school should switch to LED lights. Evidence: A council energy audit of our building found LED lights would cut the lighting bill by 60% and pay for themselves in two years. (relevant and sufficient / relevant but not sufficient / not relevant) → relevant and sufficientPrompt: Relevant: is the evidence actually about the claim?

Watch out for

  • Answering from memory or opinion instead of evidence in the text.
  • Copying a long quote without explaining what it shows.

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Parts of an argument: claim, reason, evidence, counterclaim, rebuttal.
  • Use concrete materials: a short text or extract (one copy each).
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Move on to: Spotting faulty reasoning: bandwagon, slippery slope, ad hominem…; Counterclaims and rebuttals in arguments; Spotting misleading statistics and graphs.
  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-8.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Is the evidence relevant and sufficient?

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    Which claim and evidence pair matches this judgement: relevant but not sufficient?

    • A. Claim: Our school should switch to LED lights. Evidence: My uncle has LED lights at home.
    • B. Claim: Cycling to school is safe in our town. Evidence: Cycling was invented in the 19th century.
    • C. Claim: The new reading app improves reading scores. Evidence: In a term-long trial across 12 classes, pupils using the app improved more than similar pupils who did not.

  2. Question 2

    Judge the evidence for this claim. Claim: Our school should switch to LED lights. Evidence: A council energy audit of our building found LED lights would cut the lighting bill by 60% and pay for themselves in two years.

    • A. relevant and sufficient
    • B. relevant but not sufficient
    • C. not relevant

Should Secondary Schools Try a Four-Day Week?

Imagine a school week that ends on Thursday afternoon. For students in a growing number of schools around the world, this is no longer a fantasy. I believe secondary schools should at least trial a four-day week. The strongest reason is wellbeing. Many teenagers report feeling exhausted by the end of the week, and a longer weekend could give them time to rest, exercise and pursue interests that school leaves no room for. Supporters also point to attendance. In one regional pilot involving twelve schools, attendance rose by three percentage points after the change. That may sound small, but across a year it adds up to thousands of extra lessons attended. Critics argue that working parents would struggle with childcare on the fifth day. This is a serious concern. However, schools could offer an optional supervised study day, run by staff and volunteers, so that no family is left without support. Others worry that students will learn less. Yet schools in the pilot lengthened each remaining day by forty minutes, so total teaching time hardly changed. A trial costs little and teaches us a lot. If it fails, we can change back. If it works, students will thank us for it.

  1. Question 3

    Read "Should Secondary Schools Try a Four-Day Week?". Which evidence does the writer use in paragraph 3?

    • A. a description of a weekend trip
    • B. a personal story about the writer's child
    • C. a quotation from a famous scientist
    • D. attendance figures from a pilot in twelve schools

  1. Question 4

    Which claim and evidence pair matches this judgement: relevant and sufficient?

    • A. Claim: Cycling to school is safe in our town. Evidence: I cycled to school last Tuesday and nothing happened.
    • B. Claim: The new reading app improves reading scores. Evidence: One pupil said she reads more now.
    • C. Claim: The beach needs more bins. Evidence: Weekly litter counts over the summer found that bags of rubbish left on the sand tripled whenever the bins were full.

  2. Question 5

    Judge the evidence for this claim. Claim: Cycling to school is safe in our town. Evidence: Cycling was invented in the 19th century.

    • A. relevant and sufficient
    • B. relevant but not sufficient
    • C. not relevant

  3. Question 6

    Which claim and evidence pair matches this judgement: not relevant?

    • A. Claim: Our school should switch to LED lights. Evidence: My uncle has LED lights at home.
    • B. Claim: The beach needs more bins. Evidence: Seagulls are noisy birds.
    • C. Claim: The new reading app improves reading scores. Evidence: One pupil said she reads more now.

  4. Question 7

    Judge the evidence for this claim. Claim: The beach needs more bins. Evidence: Seagulls are noisy birds.

    • A. relevant and sufficient
    • B. relevant but not sufficient
    • C. not relevant

  5. Question 8

    Judge the evidence for this claim. Claim: The new reading app improves reading scores. Evidence: In a term-long trial across 12 classes, pupils using the app improved more than similar pupils who did not.

    • A. relevant and sufficient
    • B. relevant but not sufficient
    • C. not relevant

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Answer key: Is the evidence relevant and sufficient?

  1. 1. A. Claim: Our school should switch to LED lights. Evidence: My uncle has LED lights at home.

  2. 2. A. relevant and sufficient

  3. 3. D. attendance figures from a pilot in twelve schools

  4. 4. C. Claim: The beach needs more bins. Evidence: Weekly litter counts over the summer found that bags of rubbish left on the sand tripled whenever the bins were full.

  5. 5. C. not relevant

  6. 6. B. Claim: The beach needs more bins. Evidence: Seagulls are noisy birds.

  7. 7. C. not relevant

  8. 8. A. relevant and sufficient