Instructional Strategy Details for
“Claim-Evidence-Reasoning for reading a data table” mini-task
The mini-task was written specifically for a chemistry course for a unit about bonding, but it can
easily be adapted to work for any content related to reading data tables and forming arguments
using the data as evidence.
1. REVIEW for students the definitions of CLAIM, EVIDENCE, and REASONING, and discuss how they
connect.
2. MODELING: Allow students to read/review a simple and easy-to-understand data table unrelated to
the target content of this class/module. (Do not use the target-content data that you will use for the
module.)
a. Below is a sample data table you could use (or you can find/create your own). With this example
below, tell students that the scenario is that you have won a free round-trip airline ticket that you
have to use in the month of November, and there are only three possible destination cities that you
are permitted to fly to using the ticket. Tell them that you want to go to a city where you can
spend as much possible time outside.
b. Show them this data table about the three cities and ask them to examine it:
CITY
Cleveland, OH
Washington, DC
Seattle, WA
AVERAGE DAILY HIGH
TEMPERATURE IN
NOVEMBER
(Degrees Fahrenheit)
49.8
58.9
53.6
AVERAGE AMOUNT
PRECIPITATION IN
NOVEMBER
(Inches)
3.62
3.01
6.57
AVERAGE AMOUNT OF
SUNSHINE IN NOVEMBER
(Hours of Sunshine)
90
144
72
c. Ask the students which city you should go to based on the data. Then, model for students the claim
you are making: I’ve determined that Washington, DC is the best city for me to travel to in November.
d. Ask students the evidence that supports this claim. Model writing one statement of evidence for
them:
 In November, Washington’s average daily high temperature of 58.9 degrees is higher than
Cleveland’s (49.8 degrees) and Seattle’s (53.6 degrees).
 In November, Washington’s average amount of precipitation of 3.01 inches is lower than
Cleveland’s (3.62 inches) and Seattle’s (6.57 inches).
 In November, Washington’s average amount of sunshine of 144 hours is higher than
Cleveland’s (90 hours) and Seattle’s (72 hours).
e. Ask students (individually or in pairs) to use another piece of evidence to support the claim. Have
them each write down a complete sentence stating his or her evidence. Have them share out.
f.
Ask students to explain the reason why your above piece of evidence supports your claim. Model
the writing of one reasoning statement:
 It would be most comfortable to spend time outside in Washington in November because the
average temperature in Washington is higher than Cleveland and Seattle’s average
temperatures for that month.


It would be nicest to spend time outside in Washington in November because it would likely
rain the least amount there compared to Cleveland and Seattle.
There would be many more hours of sunshine in Washington in November than there would be
in Cleveland or Seattle, which means Washington would be a better place to spend outside.
g. Ask students (individually or in pairs) to write reasoning statement to explain how the piece of
evidence they selected supports the claim. Have them share out.
h. Put it all together (model for them a full paragraph that includes a claim, evidence, and reasoning
based on the data table):
I’ve determined that Washington, DC is the best city for me to travel to in November. I
want to go to the city where I can spend the most possible time outside comfortably,
and Washington provides this opportunity better than the other choices. According to
the chart, the average daily temperature in Washington is 58.9 degrees in November,
which is much warmer on average than both Cleveland and Seattle. I’m likely able to
spend more time outside if it is warmer. Also, both Seattle and Cleveland have higher
average amounts of rainfall than Washington. According to the chart, Washington
only gets 3.01 inches of rainfall on average in November, whereas Cleveland and
Seattle both get more rain than that. I will likely spend more time outside in a city
where it rains the least. Finally, Washington gets 144 hours of sunlight in November,
which is far more than Seattle (72 hours) and Cleveland (90 hours) get in that month.
Since I’m more likely to spend time outside in a place that gets more sunshine, this is
another reason why Washington is the clear choice for me.
i.
Model for students (or have them do this individually or in pairs) how to annotate the above
paragraph (or another similar paragraph), putting a “C” next to the claim; an “E” next to each piece
of evidence; and an “R” next to each reasoning statement.
3. STUDENT WORK:
Now, provide students with the data table related to the content that you are teaching on a
worksheet. Include instructions and scaffolded questions below the data to prompt students to
engage in the CER process step-by-step, and then have them pull it altogether. See the attached
example from Christopher King’s high school chemistry class and/or the blank template.