CER - Reasoning Analysis

​CER - Reasoning Analysis

​🎯 Objective: Students will be able to write a reasoning statement that clearly connects evidence to a claim using logical or scientific thinking.

Let's Review!

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is the best definition of a claim in science class?

• A claim is someone's opinion or belief.

• A claim provides evidence for a statement.
• A claim is a type of financial transaction.
• A claim is a statement based on evidence that answers a guiding question.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is the most accurate of how evidence is used in science class and CER?

• Evidence is not a part of science or CER

• Evidence is data collected or observed to support claims .

• Evidence is only used for experiments, not claims.
• Evidence is used to create hypotheses

Let's Review!

​Claim: Dogs form stronger bonds with thier owner than cats and therefore cause the most stress release.

Guiding Question: Which animal provides the most stress release for their owner?

Multiple Select

Which of these statements could be used as evidence and best support the claim: Dogs form stronger bonds with their owner than cats and therefore cause the most stress release.

• Dogs typically stay close to their owner.

• Dogs have been domesticated for thousands of years.

• Many people can develop allergies to dogs and cats.

• Dogs can provide physical protection.

• A dog's natural diet includes red meat.

What’s missing?

​Why the evidence matters — reasoning!

Reasoning is the “because” part of the explanation. It connects the evidence to the claim and explains why it makes sense.
In science, reasoning uses scientific ideas to explain the connection — but we use reasoning all the time in daily life.

Question: Does drinking coffee help people stay awake longer?

• Claim: Drinking coffee helps people stay awake longer.

• Evidence: People who drank coffee stayed up an average of two hours later than those who didn’t.

• Reasoning: Coffee contains caffeine, a stimulant that increases alertness and reduces tiredness, which explains why people who drank it stayed awake longer. - connecting what we see to why it happens.

What's a Reasoning Statement? Let's Review our Rubric

Reasoning - Data Interpretation

Explains or justifies the evidence and claim. 

Can you give a reason/explain how/why the evidence supports your claim?  What do you know about what it happening in the graph/data table - even though it is not explicitly said or graphed.

What is required for a 3?

Interprets evidence to fully explain/justify a claim 

•  Relevant:  connects the claim to the evidence

•  Plausible/Logical:  shows practical understanding and cause and effect relationship between the two variables to connect claim and evidence by using fact based/accurate scientific principles or common knowledge

• Sufficient - enough knowledge is present to fully explain the claim.

Back to pets

​Claim: Dogs form stronger bonds with thier owner than cats and therefore cause the most stress release.

Guiding Question: Which animal provides the most stress release for their owner?

Match

Match the evidence to the most applicable reasoning statements.

• Dogs typically stay close to their owner.

• Dogs have been domesticated for thousands of years.

• Dogs can be trained to perform services and/or provide physical protection.

reduces feelings of lonliness

This makes them more easily trainable.

They can help improve the quality of life for those in need.

• reduces feelings of lonliness

• This makes them more easily trainable.

• They can help improve the quality of life for those in need.

Your Turn!

• Question: Does studying with music improve focus?

• Claim: Students who study with calm background music focus better.

• Evidence: Students who listened to calm music completed more questions accurately on a practice quiz than those that listened to energetic music and no music at all.
  Reasoning - Ask: “Why do you think this might that happen?”

Open Ended

Write a reasoning statement that could be used to connect the claim and the evidence collected.

Claim: Students who study with calm background music focus better.

Evidence: Students who listened to calm music completed more questions accurately on a practice quiz than those that listened to energetic music and no music at all.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes the use of a reasoning statement in CER and science class?

• It uses scientific knowledge to explain the evidence and the connection to the claim.

• It uses scientific knowledge to make the claim and evidence sound stronger.

• It lists all the data and observations collected during the experiment.

• It summarizes the claim and evidence.