How Do You Know?

Review the first page of the Arguments student chapter with the class as an example of an argument, highlighting the opinion (“We should build a base on the moon”) and the fact used to support it (“there are many minerals on the moon that we could use on Earth.”

Have students access the student chapter How Do You Know? or distribute the handout and divide the class into groups of three.

Assign or allow each group to choose one of the following opinion statements (more than one group can work on each statement):

• We should send people to explore Mars.
• We should try to contact space aliens.
• We should build a meteor defense system.
• We should only send robots into space, not people.
• We should clean up space junk.
• We should look for new planets that people could live on.
• We should look for water on the moon.

Have each group write down their opinion statement before the word “because,” and then give them a few minutes to come up with at least three different facts they can use to complete the sentence, e.g.:

• We should build a base on the moon because it has many minerals we could use on Earth.
• We should build a base on the moon because it will help us reach other planets.
• We should build a base on the moon because it will help us learn how space affects our bodies.

Next, have each group choose which of the sentences they completed seems likely to be the strongest argument, and ask:

• Is the fact correct? How can we find out?
• Does the fact really support the opinion? What other questions do we  have to answer in order to find out?

Work with each group to make sure they’ve identified at least three questions that need to be answered.