Solutions to Redesign

18.B Construct an argument grounded in evidence and scientific reasoning to recommend a design solution that will support a stable orangutan population and protect the needs of people.

A rubric is provided to guide you through scoring students’ individual arguments. See Rubric: Engaging in an Argument from Evidence for a Land Redesign.

This lesson assumes that students are proficient at writing arguments from their previous learning in 7th grade (e.g., their experiences in the Bath Bombs Unit and the Homemade Heater Unit). If students need additional support to engage in this practice, first co-construct a class anchor chart that names the parts of a good argument (see the example to the right). If time permits, first work together on a Gotta-Have-It checklist of science ideas that may be useful in the argument. With the argumentation anchor chart and Gotta-Have-It checklist as scaffolds, assign the individual task at that time.

Oral argument presented to you live (e.g., 1 minute “elevator speech”)

Oral argument presented to you via a video or audio recording

• Visual representation that uses a model to support the being claim made.
• Visual representation that communicates an argument through a poster design or other visual layout of information.