Title and/or Lesson Plan #: Supporting Assertions with Evidence – Lesson 4

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Lesson Overview: Students have worked with identifying important information in a text as E
well as how to make a logical inference. In this lesson, students will start working with S
evaluating evidence to use as support of inferences that are made in response to a prompt, S
an assertion. O
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Resources or Materials Needed:
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 Teacher computer with internet access and connection to projector/smartboard

 Student computers to access Lino canvas http://en.linoit.com and assignments

 Power Point: Selecting the Best Evidence [Appendix F]

 Partner Practice Text, digital or print, “Virtual reality field trips give students

advanced adventure” by Deepti Hajela and Carolyn Thompson with assertion and

highlighted quotes.

 Individual Practice Text, digital or print, “Nicki Haley accused of prepping for 2024

by using personal Twitter account for UN work” by Lukas Mikelionis with 2 multiple

choice questions.

Performance Objective 4:

When provided with a passage, an assertion, and four quotes from the text, students will
identify the two strongest pieces of evidence that support the assertion.
Time: 60 minutes
Step 1: Pre-Instructional Activities: Brainstorm

 Teacher shares the lesson’s objective with the students.

 Teacher will share a Lino canvas with the class where they will brainstorm responses

to the following question: What are some common questions students are asked to

discuss about texts? Perhaps something you write about for class or on an exam.

Examples: What is theme? What is the main idea? What is the author’s
purpose?
  Students should help the teacher sort the questions into ones that would take a
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simple, from-the-text answer and ones that would take a deeper answer and proof. E
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The sticky notes can be moved around the Lino canvas. S
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 Make a connection: Teacher should highlight that the questions that take deeper N

answers are specific inferences. These are called assertions, something the writer 4

believes to be accurate or valid.

Step 2: Content Presentation: Selecting the Best Evidence

 Teacher presents mini-lesson on selecting the best evidence

[Power Point – Appendix F]

o What made you draw the conclusion that became your assertion?

o What would convince a reader that your idea is plausible/valid?

o Which text is the most specific?

o Tip: The first details we notice might not be the strongest details.

 Teacher uses a short passage (Goldilocks and the Three Bears) as an example.

o Teacher answers the question: What is the theme of the story?

o Teacher highlights text that connects to the theme.

o Teacher models how to narrow options to the two strongest pieces of

evidence.

Step 3: Learner Participation: Choosing the Best Evidence

 Teacher provides students with a short text “Virtual reality field trips give students

advanced adventure” by Deepti Hajela and Carolyn Thompson with the main idea

(assertion) listed at the top and four pieces of text in bold font.

 Students work in groups to select the two strongest pieces of evidence. Students

should also provide rationale for their choices.

  Class discussion on the students’ decisions and groups self-grade.
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Step 4: Assessment: Formative: Blind Survey E
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 Students will put their heads down to respond anonymously. S
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 Teacher will ask students to raise hands if they identified both, identified only one, N

and identified none of the pieces of strong evidence. 4

Step 5: Follow-Through Activities: Individual Practice

 Students will be assigned “Nicki Haley accused of prepping for 2024 by using

personal Twitter account for UN work” by Lukas Mikelionis to read and consider.

Students will be asked to identify the author’s tone of the piece in a multiple-choice

format and to select the two best pieces of evidence from a given list of options.

 Teacher will collect the “Nicki Haley…” assignment to see that students have

selected the two best pieces of evidence as a micro summative.