Card

Claim Cards

This strategy can pinpoint student misconceptions while also helping teachers assess a student's ability to identify appropriate and sufficient evidence to support or refute a claim.

Claim Cards

Summary

This strategy consists of a set of cards that each contain a different claim about a phenomenon, object, event, belief, or idea. Students evaluate each claim and then select the best one(s) based on the evidence they used to support the claim.

Procedure

Divide the class into small groups according to the number of cards.
Distribute a set of cards to each group so each student in the group has one card.
Students take turns reading the claim on their card to the group and describing the evidence that supports or refutes it.
After students share their claim and evidence, others in the group can add to the support or rebuttal of the claim.
After all the claims have been discussed, each group selects the "best claim" for the phenomenon, event, belief, or idea being considered.
Each group shares its best claims and evidence in a whole-class discussion.

Keeley, P. (Ed.). (2015). Science formative assessment: 50 more strategies for linking assessment, instruction, and learning. Corwin, SAGE.