QCE - Modified CER Pack for First Grade Social Studies

C.E.R. - or Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning, is an inquiry-based framework created for science instruction, but it can be useful in any subject area as a tool to facilitate critical thinking. It encourages students not just to answer questions, but to EXPLAIN and JUSTIFY their claims.  

I’ve removed the reasoning part of the framework here to make it more age-appropriate for littles. Thus it becomes QCE - Question, Claim, and Evidence! :) 

You can use this pack to introduce the CER framework to your first graders. It's a great way to get them used to backing up their answers to questions. The questions are correlated with the GA Standards of Excellence for Social Studies. Use primary sources, photos, maps, books, videos, etc. for students to explore and gather their evidence!  

The pack includes: 

-QCE templates in several different formats for you and your students to ask and answer your own social studies questions

-QCE poster and sample answer

-QCE templates with sample questions, no prep required, covering: historical figures, geography/topography, and economics