CER—Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning—is a science writing strategy that helps students build stronger analytical and writing skills. While this approach benefits all learners, its clear and structured format is especially helpful for students who need extra writing support. If you’re looking for CER ideas for science class, you’re in the right place. In this post, you’ll find easy-to-implement classroom activities and teaching strategies that make it simple to incorporate the CER framework—without rewriting your entire lesson plan.
If CER—claim, evidence, and reasoning—is new to you, or you’re just looking for fresh CER ideas for your science class, here are some great starting points:
To make things easier, you can also grab free CER materials to use in your classroom right away. These include graphic organizers that help students brainstorm and structure their responses using the CER method—perfect for supporting all learners while boosting science writing confidence.
New CER Ideas for the Science Classroom
It can be easier to introduce CER—claim, evidence, and reasoning—through engaging examples that activate students’ background knowledge before connecting the process directly to science content. Many teachers start with fun, non-academic prompts to help students understand how to support a claim with evidence and reasoning.
Some commonly used CER examples include commercials like:
State Farm’s She Shed
Audi’s Space Alien
While these are great starters, if you’re looking for new CER ideas to shake things up in your science class, try these engaging strategies that still focus on forming strong claims, using evidence, and explaining reasoning:
ShamWow Commercial – Students can evaluate if the product really works based on the commercial’s claims and visuals. This sparks conversation about persuasive techniques and what counts as reliable evidence.
Phone App Detective – Show students your phone’s home screen or list of apps (with anything personal removed), and ask them to make a claim about your personality or interests, citing specific apps as evidence and explaining their reasoning.
Teacher’s Bag – Pull out 5 items from your teacher bag and have students write a CER response about what kind of person you are, based on those items. It’s a fun intro that models inference and evidence.
Case of the Missing Meatballs – Turn your classroom into a mystery! Give students clues and evidence and have them write a CER response to solve who “stole” the meatballs. Great for classroom community and critical thinking.
Mars Rover Scenario – Present students with data or observations from a Mars rover simulation and ask them to form a claim about past water on Mars, citing evidence and scientific reasoning.
These creative CER ideas for science class not only engage students, but they also build the thinking process needed before applying the strategy to core science content.
How to Use These CER Ideas in Class
Using the FREE CER materials mentioned above, it’s easy to implement these new CER activities right away.
Here’s a simple way to introduce these claim, evidence, and reasoning strategies:
Pose a guiding question – Give students a prompt or let them create their own claim based on the activity or video.
Watch or discuss – Play the video (like ShamWow or a phone app review), or reveal the mystery item (like a teacher’s bag or meatballs).
Collect evidence – Students identify specific evidence from visuals, quotes, or class discussion that supports their claim.
Connect with reasoning – Finally, students explain why the evidence supports their claim using prior knowledge or scientific principles.
Wrapping Up Your CER Strategy
Teaching students how to write using the CER ideas for science strategy—claim, evidence, and reasoning—doesn’t have to feel like a chore. With a few creative ideas, some engaging videos, and the right scaffolds, your students can become confident in analyzing science content and defending their thinking. Whether you’re just getting started with CER or looking to breathe new life into your lessons, these strategies will help you make science writing more meaningful. Don’t forget to grab the free CER materials to jump-start your planning and check out my full bundle of ready-to-use CER activities and worksheets designed for grades 4–8. You’ve got this, teacher friend!
Want more ideas and support for teaching CER in science? Check out all my CER ideas for science blog posts below to deepen your understanding and get fresh inspiration for your classroom:
Explore each post to discover free materials, creative strategies, and step-by-step guidance to make these CER ideas for science work for every student in your science classroom!
