Constructing Explanations and
Engaging in Argument from Evidence
Making a claim
I claim that ________.
I now know that ________.
Providing
evidence
I claim this because ________.
I know this because ________.
The evidence I can use to support this claim is ________.
Reasoning
I know _______ (claim) because _______ (justification).
My evidence supports my claim because ________.
Asking for
evidence
I have a question about ________.
What causes ________ to ________?
How did you know that ________ was ________?
Can you show me where you found the information about ________?
Critiquing
Others’
Reasoning
I think you need further evidence because ________?
I don’t think your claim matches your evidence because ________?
I think you should also consider ________.
I want to know more about how you ________.
I don’t think your reasoning is accurate because ________.
Offering a
counter-claim
I disagree with ________ because ________.
The reason I believe ________ is ________.
The facts that support my idea are ________.
One difference between my idea and yours is ________.
My idea was ________ because I read ________.
Formulating a
Rebuttal
I know ______ (claim 2) is not correct because ______ (evidence and reasoning).
______ (evidence) proves that claim is not valid because ______.
Inviting
Speculation
I wonder what would happen if ________.
I have a question about ________.
Let’s find out how we can test these samples for ________.
We want to test ________ to find out if ________.
If I change ________ (variable in investigation), then I think ________will happen,
because ________.
I wonder why ________?
What caused ________?
How would this be different if ________?
What do you think will happen if ________ / next?
Reaching
consensus
I agree with ________ because ________.
How would this be different if ________?
We all have the same idea about ________.
Adapted from
• Ross, D., Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2009, November). The art of argumentation. Science and Children, 28-31.
• Lee, E., Cite, S., & Hanuscin, D. (2014, September). Taking the “mystery” out of argument. Science and
Children, 46-52.