Years 7–8 · English · Reference module

Lesson 6: Non-Fiction & Persuasion — Claim, Evidence & Reasoning

Test the difference between opinion and evidence, then build a qualified argument from a labelled practice pack.

Ngā Whāinga Akoranga — Learning intentions

We are learning to: We are learning to analyse how claims, evidence, and reasoning work together to influence a reader.

Success evidence: I can distinguish claim from evidence, explain the limit of a source, and write a paragraph that does not overclaim.

Te Whakatakotoranga | Run of show

  1. Spot persuasive choices 6 min
  2. Model claim and evidence 10 min
  3. Rank bounded reasons 14 min
  4. Draft the argument 20 min
  5. Revise for credibility 7 min
  6. Name the strongest move 3 min

Total: 60 minutes.

Tirohanga whānui | What this module is doing

This module fails when a paragraph acronym replaces thinking, or when a statistic is treated as proof without checking its source and denominator.

You’ll need

  • Open Workshop 6; its bike-rack figures are explicitly fictional practice data.
  • Prepare three labels: claim, evidence, reasoning.
  • Offer the same evidence pack to every group so disagreement centres on interpretation.
  • Workshop 6 learner page and portfolio evidence rubric.

Do Now — Name the job 6 min

Run it

  1. Sort three cards into claim, evidence, and reasoning.
  2. Explain why an opinion cannot become evidence merely by adding “many people think.”

Model — Make the claim earn its size 10 min

Run it

  1. Read the fictional bike-rack claim and evidence card.
  2. Model a narrow inference the sample supports, then an overclaim it does not support.
  3. Add reasoning that connects wet seats to the proposed shelter without pretending the sample represents every day.

Guided practice — Evidence stress test 14 min

Run it

  1. Groups annotate relevance, source, sample, and limitation for each practice card.
  2. Write one sentence beginning “This suggests…” and one beginning “This cannot establish…”.
  3. Compare two plausible interpretations and decide which is better qualified.

Independent draft — Argue from the pack 20 min

Run it

  1. Write a position paragraph and a counterpoint using only supplied practice evidence.
  2. Attribute the fictional source in the sentence; never present it as real school data.
  3. Link evidence to the requested action through explicit reasoning.

Revision — Qualify and clarify 7 min

Run it

  1. Underline every absolute word such as all, proves, always, or everyone.
  2. Keep it only if the evidence earns it; otherwise narrow the claim and record the reason.

Exit — Limit included 3 min

Run it

  1. Submit one evidence sentence followed by its most important limitation.

Ngā huarahi ako | Differentiation

Tautoko / Support

  • Provide sentence frames for claim, evidence, reasoning, and limitation.
  • Allow oral rehearsal with labelled cards before paragraph writing.

Toitoi / Extension

Write two opposing claims from the same evidence pack and judge which interpretation is more defensible.

Evidence choices

The argument may be typed, handwritten, dictated, or recorded. Evidence must still distinguish claim, supplied reason, and response to a counterpoint; handwriting speed is not assessed.

Source and cultural-authority boundary

Do not borrow the authority of whaikōrero, whakapapa, or community voice as a generic persuasion technique. Cultural forms have their own purposes and protocols; this module teaches evidence-aware English paragraphing.

Hononga marautanga | Curriculum

Use language features that support analysis of how meaning is shaped, including those identified in the teaching sequence.

Te Mātaiaho · English · Phase 3 · Text Studies · Practices

Learners analyse how claim language and evidence attribution shape credibility, then adapt those features in a bounded argument.

Honest limit: the active Phase 3 English corpus has no writing-production statement. Persuasive drafting is connected here only after learners analyse how the supplied model creates credibility, and the lesson makes no Phase 4 curriculum claim.

Resources and checking