Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) in Elementary Education by Ellie Ellison

What is CER?

ellie_ellison — 2024-12-05 18:09:40 UTC

Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) is a powerful framework that helps students develop critical thinking skills. A claim is a statement that answers the question. Evidence includes scientific data or observations that support the claim. Reasoning explains why the evidence supports the claim using scientific principles.

Quick Survey

ellie_ellison — 2024-12-05 18:09:42 UTC

CER in Multiple Choice Questions

ellie_ellison — 2024-12-05 18:09:42 UTC

Transform regular MC questions into CER opportunities:
1. Have students select their answer (Claim)
2. Circle evidence from the text/problem (Evidence)
3. Write why this evidence led to their choice (Reasoning)
This works great as a review pre or post test

Keeley Probes and CER

ellie_ellison — 2024-12-05 18:09:44 UTC

Page Keeley's formative assessment probes are perfect for CER! They reveal student thinking and misconceptions while providing a structured way to make claims based on scientific understanding. Try 'Is It Living?' probe with your class!

STEMscopes Connection

ellie_ellison — 2024-12-05 18:09:45 UTC

STEMscopes already includes CER in many of its investigations! Look for the 'Claim-Evidence-Reasoning' sections in the student journals. These provide excellent scaffolding for scientific thinking.

CER in Math

ellie_ellison — 2024-12-05 18:09:45 UTC

CER works great with math word problems!
Claim: Your solution
Evidence: The numbers and operations you used
Reasoning: Why these operations solve the problem
This connects beautifully with Common Core math practice standards!

CER in Reading Comprehension

ellie_ellison — 2024-12-05 18:09:45 UTC

CER aligns perfectly with text-based evidence in ELA!
Claim: Theme or main idea
Evidence: Quotes from the text
Reasoning: How the quotes reveal the theme
This supports close reading strategies!

Analyzing Data Tables

ellie_ellison — 2024-12-05 18:09:45 UTC

Teach students how to analyze and reason using data tables.
- What question did we answer?
- How should we organize the data?
- What patterns might help us make claims?
This builds both science and math skills!

Graph Interpretation

ellie_ellison — 2024-12-05 18:09:46 UTC

Use CER to analyze graphs:

Claim: What does the graph tell us?

Evidence: Specific data points or trends

Reasoning: Why these trends occur

Start with simple bar graphs and work up to line graphs!

Share Your CER Ideas!

ellie_ellison — 2024-12-05 18:09:46 UTC

Please share your creative ideas for implementing CER in your classroom! Comment below with a Brief description of your CER activity! Take your time to look through some options in STEMscopes, past unit test questions that need review, exit slip ideas in the unit plans, or come up with your own!
Let's build our teacher toolkit together! 🌟

CER Example

ellie_ellison — 2024-12-05 18:14:47 UTC

Comment your answer below...

What is Phoebe's claim? What is her evidence? What is her Reasoning?

Let's practice CER together!

ellie_ellison — 2024-12-05 18:34:00 UTC

Comment your answer below!
Question: Which plant will grow taller - one in sunlight or one in shade?

Claim: The __________ plant will grow taller.

Evidence: __________________________________________________________________________________________.

Reasoning: __________________________________________________________________________________________.

Can you think of any other generator ideas?

ellie_ellison — 2024-12-05 19:02:51 UTC

Comment your responses below!

Examples

ellie_ellison — 2025-11-25 18:44:15 UTC

Moon and Tide CER

CER Folder

ellie_ellison — 2025-12-02 15:00:17 UTC

K-1 CER Example

ellie_ellison — 2025-12-02 15:02:03 UTC

Persuasive writing connection?

2025-12-02 15:22:22 UTC

I’m thinking CER structure could be used for persuasive writing planning. Anyone try that?

CER Online Examples

2025-12-02 15:25:46 UTC

CER Video Intro from Youtube

2025-12-02 15:26:56 UTC

Keeley Probes

ellie_ellison — 2025-12-02 15:31:00 UTC

APS Possible Check-Ins

ellie_ellison — 2025-12-02 15:42:49 UTC

‘Possible Check-ins’ included in the assessment column of each APS unit plan or by Grade level: Grade 3, Grade 4 & Grade 5