Handouts are available below. Big Idea Learning how to graph data and write arguments using CER (claim, evidence and reasoning) are skills that I teach at the beginning of the school year. But, how do I assess students on these skills after that initial work? Here, I share the first quiz I give students to…
Category Archive for: CER
Handouts are available below. Big Idea How can we teach CER in a more organic way? When we teach CER, I used to go over what a claim is, what evidence is, and what reasoning is and how that differs from evidence. Then, we’d work through some examples. This works, but I think it can…
CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) is an awesome way for students to communicate their scientific claims by connecting them with supporting evidence and linking them to “textbook” ideas and reasons. In Post #12, we use jellybeans as a low-barrier-to-entry example to introduce CER to students (click here to check it out). However, outside of food, what’s…
How do teachers check for understanding in their science classes? Or, how about writing good CER statements – how do we check for that? A typical strategy is call and answer. That is, ask the class, and wait for someone to answer. However, call and answer is typically a passive process – students sit and…
How do you teach students about lab equipment? Some teachers merely hand out an equipment list with pictures and labels and ask students to memorize it. There’s nothing wrong with that. It gets the job done (especially if all a teacher wants us to be able to identify and name equipment). But, is there a…
Do you have students who struggle with CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) statements? I give a lot of CER examples on this site (Refer to #4 and #46), but, sometimes, examples are not enough. Some students still need a step-by-step process to writing CER statements. This is especially true when writing CER statements are based on lab…
I always believe students need to have fun in science. Of course, not all the time. But, there needs to be an element of fun. This is especially true when we teach science skills like CER. CER stands for Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning, and it’s an awesome format for students to follow in order to…
How do we teach CER (Claim Evidence Reasoning) in a fun, engaging way? Whether you’re introducing CER (Claim Evidence Reasoning) for the first time to your students or looking for ways to reinforce it, it’s easier to do if we use real life examples. And, on top of being fun and interesting, it would be…
CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) is an excellent structure for students to follow when organizing their thoughts, ideas, and arguments. But, some students may wonder if CER is really relevant to science. Or, like so many things they learn in school, whether people really use it outside of school. Perhaps, what students need is a CER…
How do you introduce CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) to your students? Fact is, there are many ways, and they all depend on personal teaching styles. Some use class discussion questions to as a CER intro activity to help students develop and support some fun claims. Some use quirky science examples to illustrate CER in real,…
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