Skill companion: Building an Argument from Evidence (Year 7)

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Skill companion · Year 7 Science Inquiryseegongsik /au

Building an Argument from Evidence: a skill companion

A small set of reusable sheets that grow one inquiry skill: building an argument from a claim, the evidence that backs it and the reasoning that links them, judging and citing secondary data, and handling data and knowledge that belong to others with the permission and protocols they need. Print the scaffolds once and slot them into the science lessons you already teach.

AC9S7I07

construct evidence-based arguments to support conclusions or evaluate claims and consider any ethical issues and cultural protocols associated with using or citing secondary data or information

What a skill companion is

Inquiry skills are not a topic of their own. They grow inside the science units a class teaches all year, such as Classifying Living Things, Energy Flow in Ecosystems, Earth, Sun and Moon, Balanced and Unbalanced Forces, The Particle Model of Matter, and Pure Substances and Mixtures. So this pack is not a full term of lessons. It is three reusable scaffolds, a map of where they fit, and a short stand-alone lesson for teaching the skill on its own first.

Start here: five minutes

Read the pairing map on the next page: it shows a conclusion to argue in each topic, and the care its sources need.
Print the argument builder and the sources sheet, one each per student, whenever a class writes a conclusion.
Cut out the cards once. They are reused all year, and the blank cards fit any topic.
Open the free interactive unit on your board when you want a worked example of the skill.
Run the one-page mini-lesson first if you want to teach the skill before folding it into a topic.

No science background needed

Each scaffold explains itself in plain words, and the answer sheet gives a model argument, the sources ranked with reasons, the card key and a quick three-level guide. The step up from Year 6 is the structure and the ethics: a claim backed by several pieces of evidence and a reason from a science idea, secondary data named and dated, and knowledge that belongs to a community, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, used only with permission and credited as they ask.

On the board

This pack is the printable half of a free interactive unit. On screen, students sort statements with “Supports” and “Does not support” in “Build the case, leave out the weak parts”, switch to the bar chart in “Turn your readings into evidence a reader can see”, and compare the three choices in “How should you handle data tied to a community?”. Each scaffold turns one of those moves into something students do on paper.

seegongsik.com/au/y7/inquiry/AC9S7I07

Aligned to the Australian Curriculum V9 (AC9S7I07). This pack is original material from seegongsik, independently produced and not endorsed by ACARA. Curriculum content descriptors are (c) ACARA, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Free to print and use in class.

Where the skill fitsPairing map

Slot the skill into your science lessons

Every science unit ends in conclusions worth arguing well. This map shows one in each Year 7 topic, the evidence that can carry it, and the care its sources need. You do not run these as extra lessons; you fold them into the science you teach, with the argument builder for the case and the sources sheet for the data.

When you teach	Conclusion to argue	Evidence that can carry it	Care with sources
Classifying Living Things (AC9S7U01)	Most of the animals in our leaf litter are arthropods	Our sorted counts, checked against a cited museum field guide	Collect only from the school grounds, and return the animals
Energy Flow in Ecosystems (AC9S7U02)	Removing one predator changes a whole food web	A national park’s long-term monitoring data, cited	Data kept by rangers or a community: ask first, and credit it as they wish
Earth, Sun and Moon (AC9S7U03)	The biggest tides come near full moon and new moon	A month of official tide predictions, cited, beside a moon-phase calendar	Name the source and the port the predictions are for
Balanced and Unbalanced Forces (AC9S7U04)	A seatbelt reduces the force on a passenger in a crash	Our trolley-and-modelling-clay passenger tests, with cited road-safety findings	Discuss real crashes with care; some students may have been affected by one
The Particle Model of Matter (AC9S7U05)	Gases spread out because their particles keep moving	How long a smell takes to cross the room, timed from three places	Ask about allergies before using any scent
Pure Substances and Mixtures (AC9S7U06)	Our tap water is a mixture, not pure water	The residue left after evaporation, and the water supplier’s published report, cited	Cite the report, and say which year it covers
Any science topic	A conclusion from the class’s own investigation	Measured evidence first, cited secondary data next, and a science idea to link them	Permission, citation and cultural protocols checked before use

The three moves, and the picture that backs each one

When you want a worked example on the board, open the interactive unit and use the picture that matches the move.

Choose the statements that genuinely support a conclusion: “Build the case, leave out the weak parts”.
Show the evidence so a reader can judge it: “Turn your readings into evidence a reader can see”.
Weigh how to use data that belongs to a community: “How should you handle data tied to a community?”.

How the scaffolds build the skill

The argument builder turns a set of readings and a cited finding into a claim, evidence, reasoning and a limit. The sources sheet ranks three sources by how far they can be trusted, writes a citation, and decides what to do before using knowledge that belongs to a community. The cards sort statements into what belongs in an argument, what weakens it, and what needs care before it can be used.

Scaffold 1 · Argument builderOne per student

Claim, evidence, reasoning

NameClassDate

An argument states a claim, backs it with evidence, and explains with a science idea why the evidence supports it. It reaches no further than its evidence. Class 7H measured surface temperatures around the school at 1 pm on five hot days.

A. The evidence

Surface (°C)	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5
asphalt in the sun	41	44	39	46	42
grass in the sun	31	33	30	34	32
soil under the trees	27	28	26	29	27

Secondary data (City council, Urban Heat Report, 2023): in summer, streets with many trees were about 4 °C cooler at street level than streets with few.

B. Build the argument

Claim what the evidence lets you conclude

Evidence 1 from the class's own measurements, with numbers

Evidence 2 from the cited secondary data

Reasoning the science idea that links the evidence to the claim

A limit what this evidence cannot show

Teacher note: this frame works for any argument; keep a stack and use it whenever a class writes a conclusion.

Scaffold 2 · Use sources with careOne per student

Trust, cite and respect your sources

NameClassDate

Secondary data is information someone else collected. Before it goes in an argument, check how far it can be trusted, cite it so others can check it, and make sure you have the right to use it.

A. How far can each source be trusted?

Rank them 1 (most trusted) to 3, and give a reason.

Source	Rank	Reason
A. A post on a social media page: “Trees make any playground 10 degrees cooler!!” No author, no date, no measurements.
B. A council report from 2023 with its method, the dates and places it measured, and the people who did the work.
C. A newspaper article that quotes the council report and adds a photo of a shady park.

B. Cite it

Write a citation for the source you trust most: who made it, the year, its title, and where you found it.

Citation:

C. Data that belongs to others

Your argument would be stronger with the creek temperatures that a local Aboriginal ranger group records on its Country. Tick each step you would take before using them.

□ Ask the ranger group, through the school, whether the data may be used.

□ Explain what the argument is for and who will read it.

□ Follow the group’s protocols for how the data or knowledge may be shared.

□ Credit the ranger group in the way they ask.

□ Use the data quietly if no one will notice.

If the group says no, the class should:

Scaffold 3 · Argument cards (cut out)Reuse all year

Belongs, weakens, or needs care first?

Class 7H is arguing that more trees would keep the playground cooler. Cut out the cards, lay down the three grey heading cards, and sort each statement or source under them.

Belongs in the argumentMeasured evidence, cited data, or a science idea that links them.Heading

Weakens the argumentAppearance, opinion, uncited claims, or too little evidence.Heading

Needs care firstCould help, but only after permission, citation or cultural protocols.Heading

On all five hot days we measured, the soil under the trees was the coolest place.Card A

The asphalt looks hotter, so it must be.Card B

Photos of other students sitting in the shade, to show where people go.Card C

Temperature records kept by a local Aboriginal ranger group for their Country.Card D

Leaves give off water vapour, which cools them, the way sweat cools skin.Card E

Someone online said trees always make places 10 degrees cooler.Card F

We only measured once, on a cloudy morning.Card G

A graph copied from a newspaper article.Card H

The council report, cited by name and year, found tree-lined streets about 4 °C cooler.Card I

Our infrared thermometer read 41 °C on the asphalt and 27 °C under the trees.Card J

Trees are nicer to sit under than shade sails.Card K

Stories from an Elder about how the creek used to be shaded.Card L

A piece of evidence for our argument:

Write your own

A piece of evidence for our argument:

Write your own

A piece of evidence for our argument:

Write your own

Teacher note: four cards go in each pile. The answer sheet lists which is which, and why.

Mini-lesson · Teacher planAbout 30 minutes

The hot-spot argument

Use this stand-alone lesson to teach the skill on its own, before you fold it into a science topic. Pairs measure how hot three surfaces around the school are, then argue from their own readings and a cited source about where shade matters most.

We are learning to

state a claim and back it with measured evidence and a science reason,
add secondary data, cited so others can check it,
keep the conclusion within what the evidence shows.

Success criteria

My argument has a claim, two pieces of evidence, reasoning and a limit.
I can say why a statement that only “looks true” does not belong in it.

You need

for each pair: a thermometer (an infrared one if the school has it, or an ordinary one laid on the surface for 2 minutes), a sunny day, and hats and sunscreen for the time outside,
the argument builder (scaffold 1), one per student, and the cards from scaffold 3, one set per table.

Lesson flow (about 30 minutes)

5 min	What belongs? Show the board (see the box). Ask: “The bank “just looks messier”. Why is that not evidence?”
10 min	Measure Outside, pairs take the temperature of a hard surface in the sun, grass in the sun, and the ground in shade, holding the thermometer the same way at each. Ask: “What must stay the same at each place so the readings compare fairly?”
10 min	Build the argument Back inside, students fill part B of the argument builder with their own readings and the cited council finding. Ask: “Which science idea explains why the shade is cooler?”
5 min	Sort the cards Tables sort the cards under the three heading cards. Ask: “This source needs care. What would you do before using it?”

Running it shorter? Measure and build the claim and evidence today; add the reasoning and the cards next lesson.

On the board

For a worked example, open the unit and sort the statements in “Build the case, leave out the weak parts” together with “Supports” and “Does not support”. Then show the bar chart in “Turn your readings into evidence a reader can see”.

seegongsik.com/au/y7/inquiry/AC9S7I07

Watch for these ideas

An argument that repeats the claim in different words instead of giving evidence.
Evidence with no reasoning: the reader is left to guess why it supports the claim.
Using a source without naming it, or using knowledge that belongs to a community without asking.

Make it easier, make it bigger

Easier: give the claim, and let students choose the evidence and write the reasoning.
Bigger: write a short letter to the school about where to plant trees, built on the same argument.

Answers and look-fors

The next sheet has a model argument from Class 7H’s data, the sources ranked with reasons, the steps for using data that belongs to others, the card key and a quick three-level guide.

Answers · For the teacherModel responses

Answers and look-fors

Argument builder: a model argument

Claim	Shade from trees keeps the ground in our playground cooler on hot days.
Evidence 1	On all five days the soil under the trees was the coolest surface: a mean of 27.4 °C, against 32 °C for grass in the sun and 42.4 °C for asphalt in the sun (asphalt 39 to 46 °C, shade 26 to 29 °C).
Evidence 2	City council, Urban Heat Report, 2023: in summer, streets with many trees were about 4 °C cooler at street level than streets with few.
Reasoning	Leaves block much of the sunlight before it reaches the ground, so shaded ground takes in less energy; the leaves also give off water vapour, which cools the air around them as sweat cools skin.
A limit	We measured surfaces, not the air, at one time of day, on five days in one school.

Use sources with care

Ranked: 1 = source B (Named authors, a stated method and data that can be checked.); 2 = source C (It reports the council’s findings second-hand; go back to the report itself if you can.); 3 = source A (No author, method or data to check, and the claim is far larger than measured results.). A citation at standard: City council, Urban Heat Report, 2023, found on the council’s website. Before using the ranger group’s records, tick every step except “use the data quietly”: ask through the school, explain the purpose and the readers, follow their protocols and credit them as they ask. If they say no, the class respects that and argues from its own measurements and other cited data.

Argument cards

Card	Statement or source	Pile	Why
A	On all five hot days we measured, the soil under the trees was the coolest place.	Belongs in the argument	Measured, and repeated.
B	The asphalt looks hotter, so it must be.	Weakens the argument	Appearance is not a measurement.
C	Photos of other students sitting in the shade, to show where people go.	Needs care first	Needs the students’ consent first.
D	Temperature records kept by a local Aboriginal ranger group for their Country.	Needs care first	Ask the rangers first, and follow their protocols.
E	Leaves give off water vapour, which cools them, the way sweat cools skin.	Belongs in the argument	A science idea that explains the evidence.
F	Someone online said trees always make places 10 degrees cooler.	Weakens the argument	Uncited and unchecked.
G	We only measured once, on a cloudy morning.	Weakens the argument	Too little evidence, in the wrong conditions.
H	A graph copied from a newspaper article.	Needs care first	Cite it, and check where its data came from.
I	The council report, cited by name and year, found tree-lined streets about 4 °C cooler.	Belongs in the argument	Secondary data, properly cited.
J	Our infrared thermometer read 41 °C on the asphalt and 27 °C under the trees.	Belongs in the argument	A direct measurement.
K	Trees are nicer to sit under than shade sails.	Weakens the argument	An opinion, not evidence.
L	Stories from an Elder about how the creek used to be shaded.	Needs care first	Cultural knowledge: ask how it may be shared and credited.

A quick three-level guide

Move	Working towards	At standard	Beyond
Build the argument	states a claim with no evidence, or evidence with no claim	gives a claim, evidence with numbers and a science reason	answers a likely objection with further evidence
Use secondary data	copies data without naming the source	judges how far a source can be trusted, and cites it	goes back to the original source behind a second-hand report
Act ethically	uses any data or photo it can find	asks permission and follows protocols before using others’ data or knowledge	explains why the protocols matter to the people involved

A student at standard builds a claim from evidence and reasoning, cites secondary data, and uses others’ data and knowledge only with permission. The skill grows all year, so keep the argument builder coming back whenever a class writes a conclusion.