A Speaker's Reasons and Evidence

1. Head the board with three columns: "POINT — what they want you to think," "REASON — why," "EVIDENCE — what you could check."
2. Hold up three strips one at a time and ask where each goes: "Our class should have a fish tank." (point) "Looking after a pet teaches responsibility." (reason) "Room 6 has had a tank for two years and every student has fed the fish." (evidence).
3. Ask: "How did you know the last one was evidence?" Answer to fish for: you could go to Room 6 and check it. Write under EVIDENCE: "Could I check it?"

1. Read the garden talk at normal speaking pace while filling the columns live on the board: "I think our school should build a vegetable garden. First, a garden would help us learn science outside. Last year Mr. Ruiz's class grew beans and measured them every week for their plant unit. Second, a garden would give us healthier snacks. At Oak Hill School, which has a garden, the cafeteria serves salad from it twice a week. Third, a garden would make our school the best school in town. So please vote yes for the garden."
2. Stop after the first reason and show the difficulty: you are still writing "learn science outside" and the speaker is already on Mr. Ruiz. Say: "A speaker does not wait for you."
3. Show the fix: two or three words per cell — "science outside," "Ruiz beans measured," "healthy snacks," "Oak Hill salad 2x week," "best school." Expand them after the talk, not during.
4. Point at the third row. "Best school in town" has a reason cell and an empty evidence cell. Ask: "What could you check to see if a garden makes us the best school?" Answer: nothing — there is no number, no example. Write "UNSUPPORTED" across the gap.
5. Say what that means: the speaker said it confidently, but it is an assertion. A careful listener notices it every time, whatever they think about gardens.

“Two words per cell. You can expand them afterward; you cannot rewind a speaker. And if the evidence box stays empty, write "unsupported" — that is the most useful thing you can notice.”

1. Read a new talk twice, once without stopping, once more slowly: "Kids our age should have less screen time on school nights. Screens before bed make it harder to fall asleep. A study of 2,000 children found that those who used screens in the hour before bed slept 30 minutes less. Also, less screen time means more time outside. And everyone knows screens are bad for you."
2. Students fill the three columns alone on the first listen and tidy them on the second.
3. Pairs compare. Expected log: point "less screens school nights"; reason 1 "harder to sleep" with evidence "2,000 children, 30 min less"; reason 2 "more time outside" — no evidence, unsupported; "everyone knows screens are bad" — unsupported, and not even a reason about school nights.
4. Settle disagreements by asking "Could I check it?" about the disputed cell.

“"Everyone knows" is a warning sign, not evidence. Ask yourself: who is everyone, and how would I check?”

1. Students complete the printable listening page, sorting a speaker's statements into point, reason and evidence and marking anything unsupported.
2. Read any talk on the page aloud twice, so students are listening rather than re-reading at their own pace.

1. Ask for one supported reason from the screen-time talk and its evidence ("harder to sleep — the study of 2,000 children"), then one unsupported reason. If students can only name the supported one, the gap-noticing needs another round tomorrow.