Is Sherlock Holmes an inductivist or a deductivist? Users of this interactive to distinguish between inductive and deductive reasoning. They consider in various situations whether it is better to list evidence and then introduce a claim...

A series of interactive exercises provide users with the ammunition they need to detect logical fallacies and defend themselves against persuasion. Learners read about 11 types of logical fallacies and identify the type used in sample...

High school juniors learn how to construct a strong argument by crafting a claim and using neutral language backed by evidence from reliable sources. To do so, they learn to evaluate sources and evidence to support claims. They then...

It's time to weigh the risks and benefits of screen time! Pupils work in triads to identify the strongest positive and negative consequences from their Cascading Consequences chart. Next, using the chart and their researcher's notebooks,...

The brain is not the mind. Scholars explore the claim by reading an informational article about neuroscience research, "Beyond the Brain." As they read, they answer text-dependent questions and complete an anchor chart to evaluate...

Does the Internet negatively affect peoples' brains? Scholars complete a Tracing an Argument note catcher to evaluate the question as they read the text "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" Exploring both sides of the issue, they add their...

Video games may not be so bad after all. As scholars read the text "The Many Benefits, for Kids, of Playing Video Games," they summarize the gist in their researchers' notebooks. Next, pupils draft supporting research questions based on...

Anecdotes, analogies, testimonies, statistics. The most powerful arguments rely on multiple types of evidence. Scholars explore the topic as they read contrasting evidence about the benefits of video games. They complete Venn diagrams to...

It's test time! As part one of the mid-unit assessment, scholars complete a Tracing an Argument note-catcher for both a text and a video about the Internet's effect on the brain. Pupils demonstrate learning by evaluating the argument and...

Time to pick a side! Building on the Fishbowl activity from the previous instructional activity, scholars choose a position about whether the American Academy of Pediatrics should raise its screen time recommendations. Using notes,...

The proof is in the reading. Scholars read an article, "Attached to Technology and Paying the Price," and answer text-dependent questions. Next, they complete a Venn diagram to contrast two authors' use of evidence on the topic of screen...

Looking for a lesson that teaches class members how to analyze nonfiction? Use Joseph McCarthy's famous "Enemies from Within" speech as a instructional text. Worksheet questions direct readers' attention to the many historical...

Ever wonder if that miracle product in the commercial is really a miracle? Chances are, the only miraculous part is how many people the advertisers are able to convince to buy it! Class members look over short descriptions of techniques...

Is Hester Prynne a virtuous woman? To conclude a unit study of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter class members craft an argument essay in which they use the standards listed in Proverbs 31 from the Bible to judge Hester's virtues.

How do writers create a specific tone in their text? As class members continue their study of Sugar Changed the World, they focus on the words and phrases that Aronson and Budhos use to create that tone in their descriptions of arduous...

The supplemental text, "How Your Addiction to Fast Fashion Kills," allows learners to compare how other writers use evidence to support the argument that "rich countries benefit from harsh and abusive labor practices in poor countries."...

Class members examine the images Arson and Budhos use to depict the working conditions on the sugar plantations and consider how these images support the arguments the writers present in Sugar Changed the World.

In a close reading of "The Overseer" chapter from Sugar Changed the World, groups focus on the words Aronson and Budhos use to contrast the lifestyles of enslaved people and their enslavers. The whole class then engages in an...

As part of a study of how writers structure their text so that readers understand events, class members do a close reading of "Is It Lawful to Make Slaves of Others Against Their Will?" a chapter in Aronson and Budhos' Sugar Changed the...

Class members conclude their reading of the supplemental text, “Bangladesh Factory Collapse: Who Really Pays for our Cheap Clothes?” and use the provided Evaluating Argument and Evidence Tool to analyze the evidence Anna McMullen uses to...

As a mid-unit assessment, writers use evidence from the supplemental reading articles "Globalization," "Our Addiction to Fast Fashion Kills," and "Bangladesh Factory Collapse: Who Really Pays for Our Cheap Clothes?" to draft an argument...

How do writers introduce and develop the central ideas in a text? To answer this question, ninth graders closely examine "The Age of Honey," the opening chapter in Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos' Sugar Changed the World: A Story of...

Building on the previous discussion of the supplemental reading article "Where Sweatshops Are a Dream," class members use the provided Evaluating Argument and Evidence Tool to identify the claims and evidence Nicholas Kristof uses to...

After comparing the working conditions of the enslaved people to those of the Indian indentured workers on the sugar plantations, class members examine the conditions and the actions of specific historical figures that Marc Aronson and...