9th Grade Supporting Evidence Lesson Plan Example

Topic: Supporting evidence

Objectives & Outcomes

• By the end of this lesson, students will be able to determine if information in a reading passage is relevant and therefore should be included in their summary.

Materials

• Reading passages relating to a common topic (e.g. biodiversity, pollution, climate change)
• Handout with questions to guide the process of evaluating supporting evidence (see below for an example)

Warm-up

• Begin the lesson by asking students to think about a time when they had to provide evidence to support their opinion in a debate or discussion. Ask them to share their experience with the class.
• Next, show the students a picture or a brief video clip and ask them to give an explanation of what is happening in the image or video. Encourage them to be descriptive and provide details.

Direct Instruction

• Define the term "evidence" and explain that it is information that supports a statement or claim.
• Introduce the concept of "relevance," and explain that relevant information is important or useful in a given situation.
• Explain that there are different types of evidence, such as visual, verbal, and statistical.
• Show the students different types of evidence and have them identify which type it is (e.g. visual: pictures, graphs, charts; verbal: quotes, statistics; statistical: numbers, percentages).
• Demonstrate how to identify and analyze relevant information in a reading passage by using a text analysis tool (e.g. Mind Map, Text-to-Text Comparison Tool).

Guided Practice

• Have students work in pairs to analyze a reading passage and identify the evidence and its relevance.
• Provide support and guidance as needed.

Independent Practice

• Have students choose a reading passage and analyze it on their own, using the four steps of the process.
• Encourage them to use the graphic organizer to organize their thoughts and the criteria for determining relevance.
• Provide support and guidance as needed.

Closure

• Review the four steps of the process and the criteria for determining relevance.
• Ask students to share any insights or questions they have about the process.

Assessment

• Observe students during the independent practice to assess their ability to select relevant information and support their reasoning with evidence.
• Evaluate presentations and written reports for the quality and depth of their analyses.