South Dakota ELA 11-12.WHST.1.b
The Standard
- 11-12.WHST.1
- Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying valid and sufficient data and evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both claim(s) and counterclaims in a disciplined- appropriate form and in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.
South Dakota English Language Arts Standards (2025) · Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students take a position on a question in science, history, or a technical field and back it with relevant facts. They give the opposing view a fair hearing, explain the limits of both sides, and write for a specific reader.
What Mastery Looks Like
- In a recommendation to a school board, a student uses cost, range, and emissions data to argue for or against electric buses. They support the other option with evidence too and address the board's concerns about cost and routes.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may present the opposing view as a weak opinion instead of supporting it with evidence. They may rely on one striking number without checking what it measures. They may name a drawback on one side but ignore drawbacks on their own.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: In a fictional district, electric buses cost $350,000 versus $140,000 for diesel, produce no tailpipe emissions, and travel 90 miles in winter on 75-mile routes. Write a school board paragraph that argues for one option, fairly presents the other, and names a strength and limitation of each using these facts.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs printed bus data cards showing prices, winter range, route lengths, and emissions; have them sort the cards by which position they support.
Ask students to write: Would a school board trust an argument for electric buses that ignores their higher price? Explain your answer.
Play claim swap: partners trade positions on electric buses and use one data card to support the side they first opposed.
Use a district bus route map and bus price sheets to write a two-sided recommendation to the transportation director about replacing one bus.
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