English Language Arts · 6th Grade

Active learning ideas

Analyzing Arguments and Claims in Nonfiction

Active learning works for argument analysis because students need repeated, hands-on practice to recognize weak reasoning. When students physically sort, rank, and challenge claims, they move from passive reading to active scrutiny, which builds lasting habits for evaluating real-world texts.

• Common Core State Standards
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.8

• 20–30 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Formal Debate
• 20 min · Small Groups

Sorting Game: Claim or Evidence?

Cut up sentences from a short persuasive article into strips. Small groups sort them into 'claim,' 'evidence,' and 'neither,' then compare their categories and discuss disagreements, pointing to the text to justify each placement.

How do we distinguish between a claim and supporting evidence in an informational text?

Facilitation Tip

During the Sorting Game: Claim or Evidence?, ask students to justify their choices aloud to uncover hidden assumptions about what counts as evidence.

What to look for

Provide students with a short persuasive paragraph. Ask them to underline the main claim and circle three pieces of evidence. Then, ask them to write one sentence explaining if the evidence directly supports the claim.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Formal Debate
• 25 min · Pairs

Evidence Strength Ranking

Pairs read a short argument and rank each piece of evidence on a scale from 'very strong' to 'very weak,' writing one sentence explaining each ranking. Partners compare rankings and resolve disagreements with a written rationale citing the text.

Critique the strength of the evidence used to support an author's claim.

Facilitation Tip

For the Evidence Strength Ranking, display student rankings publicly to spark debate about what makes evidence strong or weak.

What to look for

Give students a brief article. Ask them to write down the author's main claim and one piece of evidence used to support it. In a second sentence, ask them to explain whether the evidence is strong or weak and why.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Formal Debate
• 30 min · Small Groups

Counter-Evidence Hunt

After reading a one-sided argument, small groups search a provided set of secondary sources for evidence that would challenge or complicate the original claim. Each group presents their counter-evidence and explains why it weakens the argument.

Explain how an author's use of statistics can strengthen or weaken an argument.

Facilitation Tip

In the Counter-Evidence Hunt, require students to find at least one counter-claim per text to build resilience against biased arguments.

What to look for

Present students with two short texts on the same topic but with different arguments. Ask: 'What is the main claim of each text? Which text uses stronger evidence to support its claim, and why?' Facilitate a class discussion comparing their evaluations.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Formal Debate
• 20 min · Whole Class

The Credibility Audit

Teacher projects a series of evidence types , a personal anecdote, a statistic from an anonymous website, a peer-reviewed study result, an expert quote , and the class debates which types are generally strongest, building shared criteria for evaluation.

How do we distinguish between a claim and supporting evidence in an informational text?

What to look for

Provide students with a short persuasive paragraph. Ask them to underline the main claim and circle three pieces of evidence. Then, ask them to write one sentence explaining if the evidence directly supports the claim.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach argument analysis by modeling skepticism, not just skill. Use flawed but published examples to show that weak arguments appear in real texts, then guide students to spot the gaps themselves. Avoid over-explaining; instead, let students discover fallacies through structured activities that require close reading and discussion.

Successful learning looks like students identifying the difference between claims and evidence accurately, evaluating the strength of evidence with clear reasoning, and revising their own arguments based on counter-evidence. By the end, students should confidently assess whether a text’s reasoning holds up under scrutiny.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Sorting Game: Claim or Evidence?, students may believe that any sentence with a number or fact is always evidence.

  Use this activity to redirect students by asking, ‘Does this fact directly connect to the claim or just add background?’ Highlight examples where numbers or facts are irrelevant or misleading.

• During Evidence Strength Ranking, students may assume that more evidence automatically means a stronger argument.

  Use this ranking to show that quality matters more than quantity by including examples where additional evidence is repetitive or off-topic.

• During Counter-Evidence Hunt, students may think that finding counter-evidence means the original argument is completely wrong.

  Use this hunt to teach that counter-evidence tests the argument’s strength rather than invalidates it entirely, by including texts where counter-evidence is weak or irrelevant.

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Methods used in this brief

• Formal Debate