CER Word Sort worksheet for organizing terms related to argumentation and reasoning.

Let’s think through this step by step.

We are given 10 words:
- argument
- claim
- conclusion
- data
- evidence
- hypothesis
- inference
- observation
- opinion
- reasoning

The task is to sort them into 2 or 3 columns based on how they relate to each other — especially in the context of “Claim • Evidence • Reasoning” (CER), which is a common framework for building scientific or logical arguments.

In CER:
- Claim = what you believe or conclude (your main point)
- Evidence = facts, data, observations that support your claim
- Reasoning = explanation linking evidence to claim (why the evidence supports the claim)

So let’s group the words under these three categories.

---

Step 1: Identify Claim-related words

These are statements or positions someone takes:
- claim → obviously belongs here
- conclusion → often the end result of an argument; similar to claim
- opinion → a personal belief; can be a type of claim (though not always supported by evidence)
- argument → sometimes used interchangeably with claim, but more broadly it includes claim + evidence + reasoning. However, in sorting, we might put it under “claim” if we’re grouping by role.
Wait — actually, “argument” is broader. Let’s hold off and see.

Better approach: Think about what each word *does* in reasoning.

Alternative grouping idea: Group by function in thinking/scientific method.

Another way: Some words are things you observe or collect (evidence), some are things you say or decide (claims/conclusions), and some are mental processes (reasoning/inference).

Let’s try this 3-column sort:

Column 1: Things you gather or observe (Evidence)
- data
- evidence
- observation

Column 2: Statements or conclusions you make (Claim/Conclusion)
- claim
- conclusion
- opinion
- hypothesis (a testable prediction — kind of like a starting claim)
- argument? Hmm… maybe not. Argument usually includes all parts.

Wait — perhaps better to use the CER structure directly.

Standard CER mapping:

✔ Claim: claim, conclusion, opinion, hypothesis (sometimes), argument (if simplified)

But “hypothesis” is more of a predicted claim before testing.

Actually, let’s look at standard educational sorting for CER.

Commonly taught:

- Claim: claim, conclusion, opinion (if unsupported), hypothesis (as a proposed claim)
- Evidence: data, evidence, observation
- Reasoning: reasoning, inference, argument (because argument explains why evidence supports claim)

Yes! That makes sense.

“Argument” in science class often means the full CER, but when sorting words, “argument” is frequently grouped under “reasoning” because it involves explaining the link.

“Inference” is also part of reasoning — it’s a conclusion drawn from evidence.

So final grouping:

Column 1: Claim
- claim
- conclusion
- opinion
- hypothesis

Column 2: Evidence
- data
- evidence
- observation

Column 3: Reasoning
- reasoning
- inference
- argument

That uses all 10 words.

Now, explain why:

I sorted them this way because in science and writing, we build answers using three parts:
1. What we think (claim),
2. What we saw or measured (evidence),
3. Why the evidence supports our claim (reasoning).

Words like “data” and “observation” are things we collect — so they go under Evidence.
Words like “claim” and “conclusion” are what we decide — so they go under Claim.
Words like “reasoning” and “inference” are how we connect evidence to claim — so they go under Reasoning.

“Hypothesis” is a special kind of claim — a guess before testing — so it fits under Claim.
“Opinion” is a personal claim, even if not proven.
“Argument” here means the explanation part — so it goes with Reasoning.

This matches the CER model shown in the title.

──────────────────────────────────────

Final Answer:

Column 1 (Claim):
claim, conclusion, opinion, hypothesis

Column 2 (Evidence):
data, evidence, observation

Column 3 (Reasoning):
reasoning, inference, argument

Explanation:
I sorted the words based on the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) framework. Claims are statements or beliefs (like “claim,” “conclusion,” “opinion,” and “hypothesis”). Evidence is information gathered from experiments or senses (like “data,” “evidence,” and “observation”). Reasoning explains how the evidence supports the claim (like “reasoning,” “inference,” and “argument”). This helps organize how we build strong scientific or logical answers.