Summary
In this lesson students develop their writing skills to create persuasive paragraphs with a claim and supporting evidence and reasoning. Students will see the real-world application of having strong writing skills and will be able to create a clear and well-supported argument using the CER structure.
Essential Question(s)
How can we use evidence and reasoning to convince others to agree with our ideas?
Learning Objectives
Identify the parts of a strong argumentative paragraph.
Write a strong argumentative paragraph.
Snapshot
Engage
Students describe a given image, generate a list of adjectives, then improve their sentence using that list of adjectives.
Explore
Students informally investigate the quality of a paragraph, first focusing on the mechanics then the structure.
Explain
Students formalize their understanding of the components of a CER paragraph: claim, evidence, and reasoning.
Extend
Students demonstrate their understanding of writing a persuasive paragraph using the claim, evidence, reasoning structure.
Evaluate
Students make the connection between strong writing skills and a career as they watch an interview of a professional and then practice giving feedback and writing.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
Pregame Paragraphs handout (attached; one page per student; print one-sided)
Deconstructed Paragraph handout (attached; one per pair; print one-sided)
Note Catcher handout (attached; one per student; print one-sided)
Expert Editing Guide handout (attached; one half page per student; print one-sided)
Notebook paper
Preparation
Print one Deconstructed Paragraph handout for each pair of students. Then cut each handout into sentence strips. Consider using a paper clip to group each set together for easy distribution.
Engage
10 Minute(s)
Using the attached Lesson Slides, display slide 3. Post the essential question on the board as students enter the room. Read it aloud at the beginning of class. Then, transition to slide 4 and share the lesson’s learning objectives.
Show slide 5. Have students take out a piece of notebook paper and write one sentence describing the given image, which is of a pair participating in the obscure sport known as “horseboarding.”
Display slide 6 and ask students to take a moment to really review the image and jot down any one- or two-word adjectives about the image. You may need to take the time to review what an adjective is.
After students have written their list of adjectives, show slide 7. Direct students to rewrite their original sentence to include three of their adjectives. If needed, have students indicate on their paper which sentence is the original and which is the new sentence. This could be done with arrows, stars, etc. Then have students trade papers with a nearby peer.
Display slide 8. Have peers compare the new and original sentences. After giving students a minute or two to quietly read, have pairs discuss the differences they noticed. As time allows, ask for volunteers to share with the class.
Explore
15 Minute(s)
Show slide 9 and introduce the Think-Pair-Share strategy. Give each student a copy of the attached Pregame Paragraphs handout. Direct students to read Paragraph A and independently make at least three corrections. Then have them read Paragraph B and answer the questions that follow, identifying the main problem in the paragraph and how to fix it.
Have students find a partner, which could be the same as earlier or a new one. Display slide 10 and direct pairs to discuss their edits. Then have volunteers share their corrections with the class.
Give each pair a set of sentence strips from the attached Deconstructed Paragraph handout and show slide 11. Direct students to arrange the sentences in order to make a good paragraph. Do not yet explain what a “good paragraph” is. Let students use prior knowledge to make their best educated guess for this task.
After approximately 2 minutes, ask for volunteers to share the order of their sentences. Then, move to slide 12 for students to check their work. Share with students that the third and fourth sentences could be sequenced in either order.
Explain
15 Minute(s)
Display slide 13 and give each student a copy of the attached Note Catcher handout. Explain that a “good paragraph” is a group of sentences that focus on one main idea. Introduce the idea of a “persuasive/argumentative paragraph,” and that it contains a claim with evidence and reasoning.
Move to slide 14 and give the definitions of claim, evidence, and reasoning. Share the Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) strategy and that they can use “C-E-R” as an easy way to remember what to include in their persuasive paragraphs. Encourage students to make notes on their Note Catcher.
Show slide 15 and play the Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning video on the slide. This video explains CER in more depth.
Display slide 16 and elaborate on the meaning of claim in a paragraph. Pause at the end of this slide, giving students time to take notes and ask questions.
Repeat this for evidence and reasoning using slides 17–18.
Extend
20 Minute(s)
Once students understand the elements of a persuasive paragraph, they are now ready to create their own. Show slide 19 and direct students to write their own CER paragraph using one of the following prompts:
What activity should be taken as seriously as a professional sport?
What activity should be made an official school sport?
Which sport is the best?
What activity should people follow instead of sports?
Evaluate
20 Minute(s)
Display slide 20 and play the A Way With Words video, which features an interview with Darrin Walters, a senior copy editor from the University of Oklahoma. When the video ends, facilitate a brief discussion asking students what they found interesting about his career.
Show slide 21 and give each student a half-page copy of the attached Expert Editing Guide handout. Share with students that they are now going to take on the role of a professional writer and edit their partner’s CER paragraph.
Have students find a new partner and have them trade CER paragraphs. Instruct students to use this guide to peer review their partner’s paragraph. Give students approximately 5 minutes to complete this task.
Once students are done marking feedback, have students return the CER paragraphs to the original authors. Direct students to review the feedback and use it to rewrite their paragraph. If time allows, consider having students continue to work with the same partner and have them write a new CER paragraph for the opposing view to their peer’s paragraph.
Resources
Cognia. (n.d.). Writer’s checklist. Oklahoma State Department of Education. Retrieved August 10, 2026, from http://oklahoma.onlinehelp.cognia.org/testing-materials-resources/
Cognia. (n.d.). Writer’s checklist (Spanish version). Oklahoma State Department of Education. Retrieved August 10, 2026, from http://oklahoma.onlinehelp.cognia.org/testing-materials-resources/
K20 Center. (n.d.). AI image generator. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/3487
K20 Center. (20210, February 24). A way with words [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAn9e5s8AMM
K20 Center. (n.d.). Claim, evidence, reasoning (CER). Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/156
K20 Center. (2021, August 19). Claims, evidence, and reasoning [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGOxVIgmGWE
K20 Center. (n.d.). Think-pair-share. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/139