Which Evidence Actually Supports the Recess Claim?
Ms. Herrera's Grade 4 class is analyzing a student-written editorial, 'Why We Need a Longer Recess.' The claim is that a longer recess would help students concentrate in the afternoon. The editorial gives three supports: (1) 'Recess is my favorite part of the day.' (2) 'After 20 minutes of running, our class came back and finished the math quiz faster than usual.' (3) 'My older brother says middle school recess is too short.' Item 5 asks, 'Which sentence best supports the claim that longer recess helps students concentrate?' The options are A sentence 1, B sentence 2, C 'Many schools have different recess rules,' and D 'Our principal used to be a teacher.' During discussion, a student argues for A because 'it shows kids really like recess, so they'd focus better.' Ms. Herrera has five minutes and wants to leave students with a test they can reuse on any evidence item, not just this one.
1. Identify the correct option and explain why each of the other three fails to support the claim.
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B is the answer. The claim is about concentration, and B is the only support that links an action, 20 minutes of running, to a concentration-related result, finishing the math quiz faster. A says only that a student likes recess; liking is not evidence of attention. C is a general fact about school rules and never mentions students' focus. D describes the principal's job history, which has no connection to the claim. The reusable rule to state for students: a support must be on the same topic as the claim and must give a specific reason, example, or result, not an opinion, a general statement, or an unrelated fact.
2. Explain why A feels persuasive to the student who chose it, and rewrite A so that it would earn credit.
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A feels persuasive because enjoyment seems to predict effort, and students reason that happy kids work harder. But that is an assumption, not evidence: A never says what happens after recess or what students concentrate on, so the connective step is missing. The student should be able to state what would have to be added, which is a result. Rewrites that would earn credit include 'Last week, after our extra 15-minute recess, our class finished the math quiz 10 minutes faster than usual,' or 'Students said they had an easier time starting their writing after recess.' Both add a specific outcome connected to focus. The lesson to name: a weak support is often a starting point, not a dead end, so ask 'what result would make this true?'
3. Give Ms. Herrera a two-question test students can apply to any evidence option, and demonstrate it on B and on an unsourced general statement such as 'Studies show recess helps.'
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Two-question test: Is it about the claim's topic, concentration after recess? Does it give a specific reason, example, or result rather than an opinion or a general statement? B passes both, since it concerns focus and reports a concrete result. The unsourced statement 'Studies show recess helps' passes the topic question but fails the second: it is a general appeal with no named study, no number, and no described result. Have students compare the two directly so they see that a specific classroom result can be stronger evidence than a scientific-sounding sentence with nothing behind it. For Grade 4, shorten the test to 'Same topic? Yes or no. Specific proof? Yes or no,' and practice on a fresh pair before the unit check.