Identifying Claims

Overview

Students learn to distinguish claims from evidence in a literary text. They practice by analyzing short excerpts from The Crucible, then draft a brief argument claim with supporting evidence.

Learning intentions

Students will be able to:

• Identify a claim in a text and explain what it is trying to prove.
• Locate evidence that supports (or fails to support) a claim.
• Evaluate whether the evidence is relevant and sufficient for the claim.
• Use textual evidence to write a short argument paragraph.

Success criteria

Students can:

• Clearly label a claim and evidence in an excerpt from The Crucible.
• Explain how the evidence relates to the claim using specific details.
• Sort statements into “claim,” “evidence,” or “not enough info” with high accuracy.
• Write a short argument paragraph with one claim and 2–3 pieces of relevant evidence.

Curriculum links

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.1: Read closely, make logical inferences, and cite specific textual evidence.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.8: Delineate/evaluate arguments and claims; judge validity of reasoning and sufficiency/relevance of evidence.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.1: Write arguments using valid reasoning and relevant/sufficient evidence.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.8: Assess whether reasoning is valid, evidence is relevant/sufficient; identify false statements/fallacious reasoning.

Lesson structure (50 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook: claim vs. evidence sort. Teacher posts 6 short sentence strips on the board (teacher-made) and asks students to decide quickly: “Is this claiming something or providing evidence?” Students do a quick hand-signal vote, then share 1 reason.

2. 5–12 min · Mini-lesson: what counts as a claim. Teacher defines “claim” as a statement that tries to prove something and “evidence” as details from the text that support it; teacher models with one brief Crucible line and one follow-up detail. Students mark the claim and evidence on their own copy using two different colors (claim marker, evidence marker).

3. 12–22 min · Guided practice: excerpt analysis. Teacher distributes a short excerpt from The Crucible (about 10–14 sentences) with a structured table: Column A (Claim), Column B (Evidence), Column C (How evidence supports). Students work in pairs to complete the table; teacher circulates and prompts students to quote exact words when filling Column B.

4. 22–30 min · Evidence quality check. Teacher introduces a “relevance + sufficiency” checklist: relevance asks “Does the evidence directly relate to the claim?” sufficiency asks “Do we have enough support to justify the claim?” Students take one claim they found and choose which 2 pieces of evidence best meet the checklist, then explain their choice with 1–2 sentences.

5. 30–40 min · Collaborative argument: build one strong paragraph. Teacher provides a sentence frame for an evidence-based claim paragraph: “In The Crucible, the character’s statement/behavior shows that ____ because ____.” Students write a single paragraph using one claim they identified and 2–3 evidence quotes from the excerpt. Teacher requires at least two quotations and one sentence explaining how each quotation supports the claim.

6. 40–47 min · Peer review: evaluate reasoning and evidence. Students trade paragraphs and use a simple rubric checklist:

• I can identify the claim (yes/no).
• Evidence is relevant (yes/no, highlight).
• Evidence is sufficient (yes/no, note if more is needed).
• Reasoning is valid (does the evidence actually prove the claim?). Partners write one “glow” and one “grow” comment.

7. 47–50 min · Exit ticket: one-sentence evaluation. Students answer: “Choose one claim from the excerpt and evaluate the evidence: Is it relevant and sufficient? Write 1 sentence using textual detail.” Teacher collects for quick review.

Resources

• Printed The Crucible excerpt(s) for students (teacher-selected passage for this lesson)
• Student handout: Claim/Evidence table and relevance/sufficiency checklist
• Sentence frame paragraph template
• Highlighters or colored pencils (two colors)
• Sentence strips for hook activity
• Peer review checklist/rubric (teacher-made, one page)

Assessment

• Formative: claim/evidence sorting accuracy during the hook
• Formative: guided table completion and teacher conferencing during the excerpt analysis
• Summative-in-progress: paragraph requiring one claim + 2–3 quoted pieces of evidence
• Exit ticket: one-sentence relevance and sufficiency evaluation using textual detail

Differentiation

• Support: Provide a word bank (claim, proves, supports, evidence, because, details, quote) and sentence starters for the table (e.g., “The claim is that…”, “The evidence shows…”).
• Support: Offer two levels of excerpts (same theme, slightly different complexity) or pre-highlight the most likely claim sentence for students who need additional structure.
• Extension: For advanced students, require an “alternative view” line: “Someone might argue ____; however, the text shows ____,” using one additional quote to evaluate counterevidence.
• EAL/SEN: Allow vocabulary use in the checklist; accept paraphrased evidence as long as the student includes the exact quote in Column B and uses the evidence-to-claim sentence frame.