BrainPOP Science
The Power of CER: Strategies to Engage Middle School Students in Evidence-Based Writing
In the world of science, evidence-based writing isn’t just a skill; it’s a superpower! It’s the ability to make a claim, back it up with solid data, and explain the reasoning behind it. And the good news? You have the ability to unlock this superpower in your middle school students, helping them thrive not just in science but in all areas of their lives.
Where curiosity meets critical thinking
The Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) process is a dynamic approach to teaching evidence-based writing that benefits middle schoolers in several key ways:
- It provides a clear structure that strengthens critical thinking and communication skills.
- It promotes a deeper understanding of content by requiring students to connect evidence to their claims.
- It equips students with essential skills for high school and professional success, preparing them for future challenges while giving them a glimpse into how scientists work.
What is CER?
The CER framework is a simple yet powerful structure for evidence-based writing. It helps students answer scientific questions by presenting a logical and convincing argument about how something works.
- Claim: The statement that answers the question. It should be one sentence, and most importantly, backed by evidence (not a hunch!).
- Evidence: The information (data or observations) that supports the claim. It should be objective and based on facts.
- Reasoning: The explanation of how the evidence supports the claim. It should rely on accepted scientific theories and concepts.
Teach your students this process and encourage them to use it in various contexts. It’s a versatile tool they can use in everyday discussions, turning them into confident communicators.
Scaffolding the CER process: making it fun and engaging
Introducing the CER framework to middle schoolers is an exciting step toward fostering critical thinking and persuasive writing. However, it’s important to remember that mastering this process takes time and practice. Our brains are like muscles that need to build endurance—adults and middle schoolers alike—so when dealing with developing brains, let’s start small. Here are three strategies to spark curiosity and build confidence:
1. Make real-world scenarios resonate:
Bring evidence-based writing to life with real-world scenarios! Use relatable and accessible guiding questions. Remember, it’s important to incorporate a student’s real world in “real-world” science. For example, here are a few favorite Guiding Questions from Hannah B. and Charlie G., two members of BrainPOP Science’s learning design team (and former middle school science teachers):
- To teach mutations: Can eating potato chips change your DNA? “Middle schoolers love potato chips! It’s instantly engaging to ask if eating a favorite snack could change their DNA. Despite their final answer to the Guiding Question, you’ve already gotten students to think about larger, system-level implications for things that seem simple and discrete.” – Hannah
- To teach the water cycle: Are we drinking the same water that dinosaurs once drank? “Like looking at old photos, imagining the Earth millions of years ago is fascinating! A concrete example in the Guiding Question helps students consider the immense scale of the water cycle and the role of organisms within it.” – Charlie
- To teach wave properties: How does sound move through walls? “This is one of those questions that makes us stop and think, ‘How does that happen?’ Sound moving through walls is something we experience every day, so to be able to explain the science behind it really excites a lot of students.” – Hannah.
You can also pair your guiding questions with intriguing and relevant phenomena, like:
- Why are some food sources more sustainable than others?
- Phenomenon: Image of grasshopper tacos
Bonus points: make your Guiding Questions even more tangible
Hannah and Charlie’s expert tips:
Bring the Guiding Question to life as much as you can. Questions often feel easier to answer if we can hold part of them in our hands.
Examples:
- When posing a question about pollination and ecosystem services, you could pass around a vanilla bean. Where did it come from and how did it grow?
- When asking questions about density, try bringing in a glass of iced tea. Without tasting it, how can you tell if it’s sweetened?
Anchor Guiding Questions with things that students already know. Support students further with photos of familiar places and things.
Examples:
- The effects of a recent storm, the sounds of a local firework display, or an invasive species that’s new to the area.
- A photo of your school’s trash cans and recycling bins can give context to the broader concept of pollution.
- An image of algae in a fish tank or a nearby pond can anchor a question about ecosystem interactions.
“Over time, engaging students with the local relevance of a phenomenon has the power to teach them that science happens where they are, within their communities. Often, this helps students see themselves as scientists.” – Charlie G.
2. Provide a variety of resources and scaffolds
To make evidence-based writing less daunting, provide a variety of resources and scaffolds. Here are a few strategies (and tips💡!)
🗒 Observation prompts: Provide a starting point for writing, whether it’s a question or tip for what to look for in the data. Helping students focus their attention on key data creates more opportunities for high-quality evidence.
💡 Sentence-starters can help frame expectations for students. You can offer a variety of these (e.g. “This graph shows that…” “The main idea of this text is…”), and students can choose which one to use. Or, if students need more support, provide one sentence starter per resource type.
🗒 Observation notebook: Collecting observations is the first step, but organizing those thoughts is even more important. An observation notebook allows students to come back to their ideas and make connections between observations and data for stronger evidence.
💡 A variation- observation index cards! Students should write one observation per card. Then, when it’s time to select evidence, they can sort the cards into groups: ”Strong observations that support my claim,” “Observations I’m not sure about,” and “Observations I’ll leave behind.” Being able to physically separate and sort observations can make the process feel much more manageable.
🗒 Varied data collection: Give students the opportunity to collect data from multiple sources like phenomena, data manipulatives, simulations, readings, videos, and podcasts. This allows them to internalize concepts at a deeper level and gives them more opportunities to collect observations and data for their evidence.
💡 Incorporate a lab meeting. Scientists often present and discuss data in a collaborative space. Offer students the same opportunity to analyze data in small groups before drafting their CER. Small group protocols, like discussion diamonds, are a nice way to structure student collaboration. They also provide you with an artifact documenting what each student said and the consensus the group reached.
3. Examples of growth and success
Understanding the theory and steps behind CER is essential, but witnessing its application can bring CER to life for students. Providing clarity, guidance, and opportunities for self-assessment empowers students to produce high-quality, evidence-based writing.
- Provide a rubric: Even if students aren’t pros yet (and that’s okay!), CER is a process. Seeing growth across a rubric can be motivating when they have a clear understanding of the goal.
- Share exemplars: This guidance helps students visualize what success looks like for each part of the CER process and provides a roadmap for their own writing.
Three tips what this can look like in your classroom:
💡 Distribute the rubric before students start writing. Having clear expectations can help students feel comfortable and confident as they write.
💡 Use the rubric on a sample CER written by another “student” (i.e., you). You can do this as a whole class, thinking aloud together about what scores to assign the response and why. You can also do this in small groups. Encourage students to draft a few sentences of additional feedback so the writer knows how to improve for next time.
💡 Have students peer review. Anonymize student work first. Then have students use the CER rubric to score other students’ work and leave a comment sharing what they did well and what could be improved. This gives students another chance to put that rubric into practice and internalize the concepts and process. While providing constructive feedback, helps them become better at evaluating their own work.
Unleash students’ inner science superheroes!
Remember, CER is more than just a writing strategy. By embracing CER, you’re not just teaching evidence-based writing skills—you’re igniting curiosity and empowering students to become confident, critical thinkers. With every CER they craft, your students are honing their scientific superpowers: the ability to analyze, reason, and communicate with the precision of a seasoned scientist. So, let’s unleash their inner superheroes and watch them soar to new heights of academic achievement and personal growth—the sky’s the limit.
Mar y Sol Esparza is a product marketing manager at BrainPOP, and a former teacher and curriculum writer. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Education and Social Policy from Northwestern University.
