What Makes you say that?
A question teachers can pose to push students to give evidence for their responses.
Description: This routine helps students identify the root of their thinking by asking them to explain the thinking behind their responses. Students are asked to share their ideas and to back them with evidence. This will let others consider many different viewpoints and perspectives on a topic. Using this routine, teachers don’t present themselves as the keepers of the answers. They let the discussion deepen and go past just mere opinions by letting the students examine the evidence behind the explanations. When this routine is a regular part of your classroom, it encourages evidence-based reasoning and conveys a sense that the answer is correct due to the evidence.
How to Use the Strategy: Refer to pages 165-170 in the book Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners. Access online instructions here at Harvard Project Zero. See the routine in practice here at Harvard Project Zero. Content Application: |
Reuther teacher, Erika Lusky, utilizes the
"What Makes You Say That?" question to conduct a richer discussion about a piece of text. Resources
Download these resources to use in your classroom. 
| ||
