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Supporting Conclusions

This support material is incorporated into critical challenges at grades 1, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 11, however, it can be adapted for use at all grade levels.

The Supporting Conclusions charts help students collect information or evidence to support various conclusions. These charts help students distinguish mere guessing from making supported or informed conclusions. The following documents can be adapted and re-saved for your needs.

Assessing Clues and Conclusions 
An assessment rubric is available for these charts.

Looking for Clues 
This chart helps students record their conclusions and then offer evidence to support these conclusions. For example, while listening to or reading a story, students might draw conclusions about a character's quality of life and then provide information or evidence from the story to justify each conclusion. To use this chart, students:

• record conclusions in the left-hand column
• record evidence to support each conclusion.

Observation, Conclusion and Evidence 
This chart helps students work from specific observations to well-supported conclusions. For example, when interpreting a picture, students might record what they see, draw conclusions and offer supporting evidence for these conclusions. To use this chart, students:

• record observations in the left-hand column
• record inferences or conclusions for each observation
• record supporting evidence for each inference or conclusion.

Interpreting the Artist’s Message 
This chart helps students learn how to use the principles of design, i.e., balance, emphasis, contrast and unity, and the elements of design, i.e., use of line, colour, shape, perspective and texture, to draw conclusions from a creative work about the artist’s message. To use this chart, students:

• select a specific detail or feature of the work; e.g., the inclusion of the Madonna figure in the centre of the image
• identify the principle(s) or element(s) reflected in this detail; e.g., use of emphasis
• draw out the effect of using the principle or element in this way; e.g., the emphasis highlights the importance of the Madonna in Renaissance society
• draw a conclusion about the author’s reasoning for this choice; e.g., the Church, generally, and the Madonna, especially, were central figures in the spiritual, social and political life of this historical period.

Credits

Adapted from Critical Challenges Across the Curriculum series. Permission granted by The Critical Thinking Consortium for use by Alberta teachers.