Students are asked to explain their opinions verbally (e.g., "Ask your child if she likes the novel so far and to explain why or why not") and to justify claims about Jack (e.g., "Is Jack's attitude toward poetry changing? How do you know? (He is writing more poems...)" ). Parents are instructed to have the child read poems aloud and then have the listener describe what they hear and compare it to the picture ("Encourage your child to read her poems to you... Describe what you see when you hear the poem and check to see how close your image was to the actual picture."). Students are also asked to explain how their illustration connects to words from a poem (parent prompt: "Ask your child to explain her illustration and the words from the poem that helped her draw it").

Students are asked to identify reasons in responses such as QUESTION #1: "What reasons did Mrs. Olinski give when asked how she selected her team?" which requires locating and stating supporting reasons. The Parent Plan lists skills including "Distinguish between a speaker's opinions and verifiable facts" and "Interpret speakers' messages and perspectives," which frames activities that focus on identifying claims versus facts. Activity 1 has students label given statements as fact or opinion and produce their own examples, prompting them to evaluate the basis of claims.

The lesson asks students to explain character motivations (e.g., QUESTION #4: Why did Timothy refuse to give Phillip more water? and QUESTION #6: Do you think Timothy believed Phillip would regain his sight? Why or why not?), requiring students to give reasons for actions and beliefs. Multiple activities ask students to record sentences about characters' thoughts, feelings, and actions across chapters, which asks for concise interpretation of what characters say and do. Discussion prompts (e.g., Why do you think Phillip thought Timothy's face was terrifying?; Timothy calls Phillip "Young Boss." Why?) require students to explain reasons behind attitudes and statements.

Question #5 asks students to explain how Timothy knew a hurricane was coming and lists sensory cues (sea firing like a rifle, smell in the air, absence of birds, cloudy water, yellowish sky), requiring students to identify reasons and evidence supporting his claim. Activity 2 asks students to write a journal entry about Timothy based only on his words and actions, prompting students to infer character traits from behavioral evidence. The parent/teacher prompts ask students to discuss Phillip's and Timothy's feelings and how their relationship has changed, which can involve citing events and actions as support.

Students are asked to explain the theme of the book and to support their idea with evidence from the text (Things to Review). Students are prompted to answer orally the questions they developed and to discuss what they enjoyed, whether they'd recommend the book, and their predictions about Phillip (Wrapping Up and Parent Plan), which requires giving reasons for opinions. Activity 3 asks students to select three items to remember Timothy and to describe how each represents him, prompting students to explain the reasoning behind their choices.

Students read or listen to Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech and are asked to read part of it aloud, which gives them direct exposure to a speaker's points. The skills list and parent notes ask students to "listen actively to interpret the speaker's purpose or intent" and to practice reading or presenting aloud with appropriate emphasis, pace, and gestures. The eulogy task requires students to include a description of Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream and to relate their own experience to that dream, and the rubric evaluates the eulogy for relation to King's dream and clarity of presentation.

Students are asked to make two lists of reasons for Dina to stay in New York or to go back (Activity 3) and then decide which choice they believe is best, with a parent prompt to have the child explain the decision and why. The Parent Plan and Skills sections state that students will "draw conclusions and support them with text evidence" and "answer different types and levels of questions such as open-ended, literal, and interpretative," which requires articulating reasons and evidence. Several activities ask students to share results or explain responses aloud to a parent (e.g., share talent, explain decision), implying spoken explanation of claims.

Students are asked to "read these rules and create a poster that summarizes the rules" from the Smokey the Bear "Building a Campfire" page, and the Student Activity Page explicitly directs students to "Summarize the major points on a poster with attractive illustrations." The Parent Plan lists skills including "Identify and interpret elements of nonfiction by referencing the text to find the main ideas" and "Summarize major plot points from fiction and nonfiction," which students practice by reading pages 1–20 and answering comprehension questions about Sam. The campfire guidelines present claims with brief reasons (e.g., "Forest fires can destroy many acres..."; "Avoid nonwooden objects that release pollutants"), which students must condense when creating the poster.

Students are asked to "summarize what happened in the pages of the book he read yesterday," which asks them to produce a concise account of prior content. In Activity 1, students explain how each item on a survival list "could have helped Sam," answering specific why/how questions (e.g., "Why are layers of clothes a good idea?" and "Why would you put the matches in a waterproof container?"). Parent-plan discussion prompts ask students to answer opinion questions with reasons (e.g., "Do you think a boy could really survive in the woods all by himself? Why or why not?").

Students are asked to interview Sam and take notes on the who, what, when, where, why, and how, using the "Newspaper Article Planning" page to organize information. Students are directed to include direct quotes from their imaginary interview and to "use facts and details to support main ideas," and the rubric asks whether quotations and plenty of details are used. Students plan paragraphs that provide basic information and explore how and why questions, which requires collecting a speaker's statements and related details.

Students answer a question identifying what Reverend Bulkeley and Matthew Wood argued about (whether colonists should be loyal to the king or stand up for a free government). Students are prompted in discussion to 'Describe the political argument between Matthew Wood and Reverend Bulkeley' and to 'Review the political reasons for the tensions between the colonists,' which directs them to consider the reasons behind the positions.

The plan asks the child to summarize the chapters she read yesterday and to describe differences between Mercy and Judith, which practices summarizing and recounting points. Activity 2 presents a debate between Matthew Wood and Reverend Bulkeley and directs students to list three reasons a colonist might be a Royalist and three reasons for a free government, which requires identifying claims and listing supporting reasons. The wrap-up asks students to review the reasons listed for each side, prompting comparison of claims and their reasons.

Students read Nat's short story in Activity 2 and are asked to identify a metaphor and compare two things, asking them to judge whether the comparison is effective and justify their opinion. Question #2 asks students to interpret Nat's statement, "A man is loyal to the place he loves," requiring students to explain meaning of a speaker's claim. The Student Activity Page asks students to list three ways Kit's time in Wethersfield parallels the Jamaican bird, prompting students to connect claims about Kit with supporting textual details.

Students are asked in Activity 2 to read Chapter 15 where community men gather to express complaints and to make a list of their complaints, which requires identifying the speakers' points. The Wrapping Up directs students to "Review the reasons the men of Connecticut were so upset," prompting students to consider reasons behind the claims. The Reading and Questions include items (e.g., William changed his position because of high taxes; Matthew Wood was upset about the appointment of a royal governor) that require students to identify claims and associated reasons or facts.

Students are asked to pretend they are in court to defend Kit and to "make up three arguments" and "provide support to defend each argument," which requires generating claims and supplying reasons or evidence. Parent prompts instruct students to give arguments "as if he were in court" and to discuss how to sound convincing, which encourages oral presentation of claims with supporting reasons. Several short-response questions (e.g., why William Ashby does not come to Kit's trial; should Kit try harder to fit in) ask students to justify opinions, prompting them to state claims and reasons in writing or discussion.

Students are asked to perform magic tricks for family and to "speak clearly and engage your audience," which requires oral presentation and could prompt listeners to evaluate claims. The parent-plan discussion prompts (e.g., "Was the automaton really magic? How do you know?" and "Do you think Hugo should have stolen the parts...? Why or why not?") require students to state claims and support them with reasons. Students are asked to read aloud and discuss whether written substitutions for pictures use the same tone and voice, engaging in oral explanation and justification.

The Parent Plan lists skills including "Listen critically and respond appropriately to oral communication" and "Understand the major ideas and supporting evidence in spoken messages," and the parent is instructed to read an original Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale aloud to the child. The lesson asks the child to summarize what has happened in the story so far and to compare the original spoken/read version to a different version or a movie using a graphic organizer that analyzes characters, setting, events, message/moral, and mood/tone. Discussion prompts and wrapping-up questions ask the child to discuss parallels between Andersen and Hugo, which could require recalling and restating main points.

The lesson asks the child to "summarize what happened in the chapters he read," which has students practice producing concise summaries of content. Activity 2 asks students to "teach someone else how to make the raccoon," which requires them to present procedures clearly to another person. Parent prompts ask students to "share his creation with the rest of the family and explain why it honors Butte," which has students state a claim about their work and give reasons tied to the character.

Students are asked to write a summary of Chapter 16 (Activity 2) and the Parent Plan lists skills such as paraphrase and summarize text and summarize major points from fiction. The Introducing the Lesson and Questions to Discuss prompt students to talk about characters, likes/dislikes, and to discuss pioneer threats, which elicits spoken responses. The reading questions require students to state what happened and recall specific events from the text.

Students are prompted to justify opinions with prompts such as "Do you think Lucy should go with her family? Why or why not?" and "Do you think Lucy will miss California? How do you know?", which asks for reasons and textual support. The Parent Plan lists skills like "Examine reasons for characters' actions" and activities ask students to explain why they are most similar to a character or to write imagined answers for Lucy, requiring students to produce claims and supporting reasons. Activity 2 directs an interview role-play where a student answers as Lucy, engaging students in spoken responses that can include reasons and evidence from the text.

Students read an example persuasive essay ("Recycling") and analyze its introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion, noting the position, three reasons, and supporting details. Students use a multi-page persuasive essay organizer and paragraph templates to state a claim (position) and list supporting evidence for each of three reasons. Activities direct students to write topic sentences and use evidence and examples to support each body paragraph, and to edit using a rubric that asks whether adequate details and information support their arguments.

Students are asked in Activity 2 (Characterizing Meg) to write three character traits for Meg and provide three examples or pieces of evidence from the book that support each trait. The Parent Plan directs students to explain the traits they gave and the evidence they found to a parent, creating an opportunity to orally state claims and cite supporting evidence. Several reading comprehension questions require students to provide explanatory answers (for example, explaining what Denny and Sandy mean and why Meg is doing poorly in school).

Students read Chapter 7 and answer comprehension questions that ask what the man told the children (Question #3 asks how the man tried to get the children not to oppose him, with the expected answer that he said he would save them from pain and trouble). Students work with a written summary of Chapter 7 in Activity 2 that includes the man's statements to the children and are asked to identify transitional words and to recognize main ideas and significant details. The Parent Plan and skills list explicitly direct students to summarize major points from fiction and to write summaries containing main ideas and significant details.

Students are asked to identify examples of events, characters' words or actions, and author's descriptions that support the theme on the Theme graphic organizer, which requires listing claims (theme-related points) and attaching supporting evidence. Activity 3 directs students to provide evidence from the story to support the theme and to record how the theme might affect characters' thoughts and actions, which asks them to link claims to reasons or textual evidence. The Parent Plan prompts students to explain how the theme of good versus evil is revealed and how they will provide evidence to support the theme.

Students answer comprehension questions that require explaining reasons for characters' actions (e.g., questions asking why Mrs. Whatsit could not permit the father to go back, why Meg had to go, and what Meg had that IT did not have). Students are prompted to discuss and interpret text ideas with a parent (Parent Plan lists "Interpret text ideas through discussion" and includes questions such as "Explain how Meg was able to rescue Charles Wallace"). Students write short answers that identify causal relationships and traits (e.g., Charles Wallace understood Meg; IT lacked love).

Students are instructed to write a short speech that states a position, provides three supporting reasons, and supports each point with statistics, experiences, or quotations. The speech rubric asks whether students provided three points and whether they supported each point, and revising/delivery activities require students to edit content to add convincing details and support. Students read Chapter 4 about Lincoln and answer comprehension questions that identify claims and reasons in historical context.

Students are asked to read the Emancipation Proclamation excerpt, underline three sentences or parts they think are most important, copy them into a journal, and explain why they selected each one. Students create a stovepipe hat project and are asked (in the parent plan) to share the hat and explain each descriptive word or phrase and the evidence from the book that supports those descriptions. Students are also prompted to read their Frederick Douglass biopoem aloud to family, providing an opportunity for oral presentation of claims supported by their research.

Students practice summarizing spoken answers in Activity 7 (Interview Summary), where they rewrite each interview question with a summary of the answer provided. In Activity 4 (Political Speech) students listen to a political speech and record opinions, facts, promises, and instances of flattery, identifying persuasive techniques and distinguishing fact from opinion. The Parent Plan skills explicitly list interpreting speakers' messages, identifying persuasive techniques, and distinguishing opinion from verifiable fact.

Students read multiple quotes from Lincoln, copy one quote onto a worksheet, and answer guided questions about that quote, including "Why is the quote effective or meaningful?" The parent plan asks students to read the quote aloud and discuss its meaning and significance. These activities require students to interpret a speaker's words and reflect on their meaning and impact.

Students are instructed to gather a "Speech" among their products for the Lincoln Showcase. The Parent Plan skills list explicitly includes "Paraphrase and summarize text to recall, inform, and organize ideas." The rubric checks that required products are included and that products are "neat and easy to understand," which relates to presenting collected spoken/written content.