The Line of
Reasoning
Tree
JILL PAVICH, CREATOR OF THE GLOBAL PEN
MRS. PAVICH’S GLOBAL WRITING BLOCK
STUDENTS 2015-2016
TEACHER FEATURE:
BETH RUBIN’S TREE OF REASONING STRATEGY
CREDITS:
Updated: July 2016
LINE OF REASONING
CONCLUSIONS Drawn
GROW YOUR OWN…LINE OF REASONING!
GROW YOUR OWN…LINE OF REASONING!
ROOTS = Context
STUDENT WORK
TRACKING THE LINE OF REASONING
ROOTS = Context
TRUNK= CLAIM(S)
STUDENT WORK
GROW YOUR OWN…LINE OF REASONING!
ROOTS = Context
BRANCHES= Subclaims
TRUNK= CLAIM(S)
STUDENT WORK
STUDENT WORK
GROW YOUR OWN…LINE OF REASONING!
ROOTS = Context
TRUNK= CLAIM(S)
BRANCHES= Subclaims
LEAVES= Evidence
STUDENT WORK
STUDENT WORK
GROW YOUR OWN…LINE OF REASONING!
ROOTS = Context
TRUNK= CLAIM(S)
BRANCHES= Subclaims
LEAVES= Evidence
SUNSHINE ON TOP OF TREE=
Conclusions/Solutions
STUDENT WORK
STUDENT WORK
BEHOLD, THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE! ER, REASONING!
REASONING TREE REFLECTION
ü  Are there any breaks in your line of
reasoning?
ü  Is your argument ‘full’?
ü  Could you add additional evidence to
support/corroborate your sub-claim
and to reinforce the overall
argument?
OTHER CRAFTY ADDITIONS
CONSIDERING THE OPPOSITION
BUT…
A little birdie told me…
HOWEVER…
Consider the wise owl…
CONSIDER OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS
NIFTY PLACES TO FEATURE YOUR ESSAY QUESTION
TREE KEY
Have students
color-code the
information in
their tree!
SOURCE CRED
Have students
include
comments
about the
CREDIBILITY of
their sources!
EVALUATING
EVIDENCE
Have students
include
comments to
EVALUATE the
strength of
their own
evidence!
Check out my Album on Flickr:
GlobalPenEDU
FLICKR

Strategies for Teaching Argumentation: Reasoning Tree