Using Claim, Evidence, And Reasoning (CER) With Primary Source Analysis | Teaching With The Library Of Congress

Comments (4)

1. Amelia Jones says: November 17, 2024 at 10:35 am

   Why is it called CER, with the claim first, when students are asked to gather evidence first? A science teacher w/ no science background. Learning along the way.

2. Gabrielle Baker says: February 5, 2025 at 10:56 pm

   @Amelia_Jones After gathering evidence and making observations, the students will then make a claim — an assertion about what they think the data reveals. Next, they will cite actual facts or observations from the evidence (E). Finally, they will “reason” (R), connecting the evidence to the question and explaining to the reader why that evidence supports their claim. My students have gotten a lot better with citing evidence but really struggle with reasoning or linking the evidence back to the claim. We’re working on it!

   I hope that helps. Good luck on your teaching journey!

3. Laura R. says: April 28, 2025 at 2:30 pm

   HS SpEd. Teacher here (in SS & ELA classrooms). Are CERs good to use when having kids read from a textbook about (in our case) ancient civilizations? I’m a bit confused by how my co-teacher is creating some graphic organizer worksheets where he asks a question like “What was the land and environment like in ancient Mesopotamia, and how did that shape the way people lived and built their civilization?” I thought CERs were more likely to be used for questions that really could be argued, not for when you have concrete evidence that just gives facts? I feel like students aren’t making a claim (argument) so much as just restating facts, and this shouldn’t be a CER.

4. Lynsey Williams says: September 22, 2025 at 4:43 pm

   I want to respond to Laura R. In the NGSS science practices argumentation is different from communicating and evaluating information. There is absolutely value to students creating an argument that requires them to take a position, it is just different than this type of claim. In this type of claim the academic lift is not typically the claim step, but is in identifying the best evidence and even more challenging is the reasoning. The reasoning step is where students explain why their evidence supports the claim they have made. In this way a CER is useful to help students create a deeper understanding of how and why things work.

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