How To Teach Claim, Evidence, And Reasoning (CER) Like A Pro

Inside: Find out how and when to use CER in the classroom, learn a simple trick to hook students from the beginning, and get helpful tips to work with students who struggle with CER in the classroom.

Do your students struggle with the CER model (claim, evidence, and reasoning) in science class? Are you looking for an easy way to introduce claim, evidence, and reasoning so that your students can relate? Keep reading to learn tips and tricks that will guide you on the path to teaching CER like a pro!

Quick Links

• What is Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning?
• How to use Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning
• Common question about claim, evidence, and reasoning
• What does a sample CER look like?
• Hook Your Students with Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning
• Graphic Organizers
• Tips to Teach CER in the Classroom
• Free 7-page Guide to Using Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning in the Classroom!
• CER Resources Teachers Love!

What is Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning?

The claim, evidence, and reasoning model is a method for teaching students to think and write scientifically. Students are encouraged not just to give a one-word response but to make a claim, justify their answer with data, and connect the data with scientific reasoning.

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How to use Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning

Claim, evidence, and reasoning is a great strategy to use to respond to information from text or videos.

My favorite use is to incorporate CER into my science labs as a conclusion. CER helps students to relate their hypothesis and lab data and make the connection to the science concept we are studying.

Common question about claim, evidence, and reasoning

What is a claim? The claim is the argument the student is making. It is a one-sentence statement that answers the question.

What is the evidence? The evidence is the data that the student uses to support their claim. This can be quantitative or qualitative. Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, methane, and particles into the air. (This data supports the claim that fossil fuels are harmful to the environment.)

What is reasoning? The reasoning explains “how” or “why” the evidence supports this claim. This is often the most difficult part for students. They struggle to tie together the claim and evidence scientifically.

What does a sample CER look like?

• CLAIM – Burning fossil fuels is harmful to the environment.
• EVIDENCE – Burning fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases like carbondioxide, methane, and particles into the air. (This data supports the claim that fossil fuels are harmful to the environment.)
• REASONING – These greenhouse gases are harmful to the environment. They can cause climate change by trapping heat, and they also contribute to respiratory disease from smog and air pollution. In the example above, the reasoning would explain why the greenhouse gases are harmful and connects it to scientific data that the student found.

One helpful tip that I use is to tell the students that the “R” stands for the “rule” – more specifically the “scientific rule.”

Hook Your Students with Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning

When introducing the claim, evidence and reasoning model, I like to start with a few non-scientific examples. Video clips on YouTube are a great way to hook your students!

The Audi commercial “My Dad is an Alien” is MY FAVORITE! I ask the question “Who is the girl’s dad?”

In the video, the girl claims that her dad is an alien and explains several reasons why she thinks this. This easily leads the students to the evidence (which the girl explains through the video clip).

Here are a few other commercials that I love to use to introduce the CER:

• Shamwow
• Cheryl’s She Shed
• Dog Buries Cat (Doritos commercial)
• Audi Prom Commercial

Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers are a great way to help students keep their ideas organized. Here are two of the graphic organizers that I use with my students. You can find these in the Free 7-Page Guide to Using Claim, Evidence, and Reason in the Classroom.

Tips to Teach CER in the Classroom

• USE A GRAPHIC ORGANIZER
• COMPLETE AS A CLASS FIRST – If the students are struggling with the reasoning, work on the reasoning as a class until they become confident.
• SMALL GROUPS – Practice identifying evidence and reasoning with a partner or in a small group.
• HIGHLIGHT – When students are finished writing, ask them to highlight the claim, evidence, and reasoning using different colored pencils or highlighters. This will also help you grade much more easily!!!
• SENTENCE STARTERS – Give students sentence starters to help frame their “evidence” and “reasoning.” These can be found in the CER Set.
• PERSONAL ANCHOR CHARTS -My students have a half-sheet that they glue into their science notebook with the framework and sentence stems for CER so that they can reference it all year.
• POSTERS – Hang posters in the classroom as a year long reference.

Free 7-page Guide to Using Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning in the Classroom!

CER Resources Teachers Love!

Are you looking for resources to take your CER to the next level? Take a look at these ready-to-use, no-prep resources for Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning in the classroom! They will save you valuable time and set your students up for SUCCESS!

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  Claim Evidence and Reasoning Activity | Claim Evidence and Reasoning Practice

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  Claim Evidence and Reasoning (CER) Posters & Bulletin Board Set

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  Claim Evidence Reasoning (CER) Practice Scenarios | Scaffolded & Editable

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  CER and Scientific Method Bundle | Claim Evidence Reasoning Bundle CER Activity

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  Claim Evidence and Reasoning CER Activity Lab Equipment CER

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  Non-Newtonian Fluid Lab Activity Reading Passage CER Claim Evidence Reasoning

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