Creating and Supporting claims and counterclaims

This is a short activity that can take as little as 2 periods or as many as a couple of weeks. It starts with students creating 3 claims, then they create 3 counterclaims for them, then they choose one and research both the evidence for the claim and counterclaim, and write a 3 paragraph explanation of why their claim is more valid than their counterclaim (or vice-versa, whatever their research reveals). It is open for teachers to add in parts about credible sources, expanding the format of the writing assignment, and more! I've also added a rubric to use to evaluate a claim/counterclaim paragraph.