Standard: 8.SL.3 – Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and relevance and sufficiency of the evidence and identifying when irrelevant evidence is introduced.
Grade level: Grade 8
Subject: English Language Arts
Domain: Speaking & Listening
Teacher Overview
This standard focuses on developing students’ ability to critically evaluate arguments and evidence presented by speakers. It’s crucial for students to distinguish between sound reasoning and faulty logic, which will help them become discerning consumers of information. Students should be familiar with identifying main ideas and supporting details, as well as basic logical reasoning skills.
Students will progress to constructing and presenting their own arguments, ensuring they use relevant and sufficient evidence to support their claims.
Common Misconception 1
A common misconception is that all evidence presented by a speaker is relevant. This is incorrect because speakers may introduce irrelevant information to distract or mislead the audience.
Intervention 1
An effective intervention is to have students practice evaluating each piece of evidence in a variety of contexts, discussing whether it directly supports the claim.
Common Misconception 2
Another misconception is that if an argument is well-reasoned, all of its claims must be true. This is incorrect because an argument can be logically sound but still contain false claims.
Intervention 2
Encourage students to fact-check claims independently and not take them at face value, even if the reasoning appears sound.
Prerequisite Knowledge
Students should have a basic understanding of logical reasoning, identifying main ideas and supporting details, and distinguishing between relevant and irrelevant information.
Subsequent Knowledge
Students will develop skills in constructing their own well-reasoned arguments, supporting claims with relevant evidence, and effectively communicating their ideas in both written and spoken formats.
Instructional Activities
- Debate club sessions
- Analyzing political speeches
- Critiquing advertisements
- Peer review of argumentative essays
- Mock courtroom trials
