The Third Column: Evidence and Inference in Student Reporting

Common Core State Standards

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.1	Summary: Support explicit readings and inferences with precise, substantial textual evidence. Students attach source letters to ledger entries and keep their claims within what each source supports.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.8	Summary: Evaluate a claim’s reasoning and the relevance and sufficiency of its evidence. Students test whether room access, boxes, and repeated posts establish cancellation or motive.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.1	Summary: Support interpretations and inferences with textual evidence while identifying what remains uncertain. Students state a reporting gap and propose evidence that could resolve it.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.1.c	Summary: Use questions to clarify, verify, or challenge conclusions and invite peers into discussion. Students question each other’s source choices during the ledger check.

Materials

• See links at left

Lesson step-by-step

1. Read the claim and case file

Core: 3 minutes. Introductory: 6 minutes. Give each student either packet. Read page 1, including the notice that all sources are fictional. Students underline what each source actually says. Ask them to separate the claim of cancellation from the claim about motive. Read the sources aloud when needed.

2. Model and practice together

Core: 3 minutes. Introductory: 7 minutes. Use page 2. In the introductory version, teach the vocabulary before reading the completed library example and think-aloud. Ask whether a second account reposting the library allegation adds independent evidence. Students discuss briefly, then explain the source trail. Confirm that repetition alone does not provide independent corroboration. Have students identify a useful next record before moving on.

3. Build and check the source ledger

Core: 9 minutes. Introductory: 12 minutes. Students complete page 3 with a partner. Separate what the record establishes, what they are inferring, and what still needs a source. Require at least two entries per column and source letters beside evidence. Pause after one row and ask students to point to the supporting words. Have partners question one inference and select two follow-up questions, naming a person or record for each. Source B mixes an observation with hearsay; Source D adds no new reporting.

4. Write a defensible update

Core: 7 minutes. Introductory: 10 minutes. Students use page 4 to write their own headline and about 50 words. Explain that a news brief is a short factual update. Use who, what, where, when, and why only where supported. Attribute the notice and the adviser’s plan, and name the uncertainty. Students may rehearse aloud, type, or dictate. Do not invent a date, motive, or completed interview. Check that the headline does not announce cancellation and that an intention to publish has not become a guaranteed outcome.

5. Collect the individual exit ticket

Core: 3 minutes. Introductory: 5 minutes. Students name an unverified part of the original claim and a specific person or record to check, explaining what that check could establish. Read the prompt aloud when helpful; allow the agreed response mode. Collect the ledger, brief, and exit ticket. Use the five-criterion rubric in The Third Column Teacher Key and Assessment. Assess evidence reasoning and attribution; an honest unknown with a useful next step earns credit. Use errors to select a short reteach or revision.

Differentiation

For students learning journalism basics, use The Third Column Supported Student Packet and the 40-minute sequence. It retains all five sources and the same evidence goal while adding a claim frame, column prompts, follow-up question stems, and a brief frame. Both packets include vocabulary, a completed model using a different case, guided practice, numbered steps, checkpoints, and writing space.

For ESE students and students with IEPs or 504 plans, provide the individual accommodations documented in their plans. Match supports to the task: read one source at a time, allow text-to-speech, highlight source letters, offer oral rehearsal, and check the first ledger row before independent work. Give extended time and breaks as needed. Do not infer a student’s needs from a disability label.

For evidence reasoning, accept an oral explanation or completed organizer using the same rubric. When written composition is separately assessed, keep that writing goal and support it with typing, dictation, or sentence frames. Do not grade speed, handwriting, or an exact word count as evidence reasoning.

For students ready for more complexity, ask what evidence could establish the alleged motive and what evidence could change their current conclusion. Have them test whether their proposed corroborating source has independent access to the information. The lesson can run entirely on paper; online classes can use private copies of the packets.