Inquiry Quest

Build your student's deductive reasoning skills with this simple writing activity. Using various theories about how King Tut died, students will assess the evidence as valid or not, and determine their own theory. They will make a claim, and support it with evidence from their research. (Spanish Translation included)

When selecting evidence for a CER, students often take the short-cut of "copy/paste", since they will be crediting their source anyway. They have learned this isn't plagiarizing, since credit has been given. The problem is, many students copy and paste something they don't really understand! With this lesson, students are asked to rephrase information so they are able to support the evidence with their reasons.

Student research can be a challenge. This activity gives students a chance to research people they feel are influential to see if they have the qualities society values beyond those they are famous for. This project takes a hard look at the fine line between public service and personal choices that might not be considered "respectable". Groups work together to research and determine who should be honored. This project ties research, evaluation, and argumentative writing.

Students are fascinated by the history of Ancient Egypt! Learning about important leaders of Egypt can be repetitive and time consuming. This project allows students to learn brief information about some key people in Egyptian history, and use their evaluative skills to judge their success as a leader. In this 2-3 day activity, students learn about 4 key pharaohs through readings and videos. They take notes on key leadership qualities so they have the evidence needed to give a grade to the ph

Students do an independent project researching or reinforcing your teachings about the process of preparing an Ancient Egyptian for the afterlife. In this guided study, students are guided through slides that inform them about the steps to mummification, the importance of the Ba and Ka, ceremonies and traditions of burial, and even the need to hire mourners! All information is provided, as well as links for students who want to know more.

Step 4 in the process for teaching CER writing. Student learn how to support their evidence with reasoning that is well thought out and detailed.

Writing a CER has moved far beyond the science classroom! It has become the standard for informative writing in middle schools. This written work can be a challenge with the content is technical and data driven. Practicing the writing with low stakes, high interest content will allow students to obtain the confidence to attack these writing challenges.

Step two of writing a CER is to select the evidence that is fitting and appropriate for the claim. Students often struggle to find the best evidence from a list of choices. This activity breaks down this process by using simple claims that fit students' experiences. Once children become proficient in the skill, they will be able to better use this knowledge with more challenging content.

When students struggle to write a CER, breaking it down into components can help students write well organized paragraphs.