Build a CER anchor chart live: layout, starters, and an example.
A CER anchor chart is a sheet of chart paper divided into three labeled sections, Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning, with one guiding question and one sentence starter in each. At Chalkbox, we build free classroom tools and guides for K-12 teachers, and this build fits in one lesson.
CER stands for claim, evidence, and reasoning. An anchor chart is a poster built with students during a lesson and kept on the wall as a reference. It works best when you make it live, with few words and one clear layout.
To build a CER anchor chart, label three sections, write a guiding question in each, and fill them in with the class from a worked example. Follow these eight steps in order:
The guiding questions and what each section holds:
| Section | Guiding question | What the section holds |
|---|---|---|
| Claim | "What is my answer to the question?" | A one-sentence answer to the question |
| Evidence | "What data or quotes prove it?" | Specific data, observations, or quotes that support the claim |
| Reasoning | "Why does this evidence prove my claim?" | An explanation of why the evidence supports the claim, naming the science idea, rule, or text logic that links them |
Keep Reasoning after Evidence on the paper. Reasoning explains why the evidence supports the claim, so the evidence has to be on the chart before the class can explain it.
Save the sentence starters for step 8. By then the class has filled all three sections, and the starters can use the words students just used.
Each section of the chart ends with one sentence starter, and the six below are original Chalkbox starters to choose from. Pick one per section, or reword one into the phrasing your students used during the build.
| Section | Sentence starter | Use when |
|---|---|---|
| Claim | "I claim that..." | Stating the answer in one sentence |
| Claim | "The answer to the question is..." | Answering the question posted with the worked example |
| Evidence | "The data show..." | The evidence is measurements or observations from a lab |
| Evidence | "In the text, the author writes..." | The evidence is a quote from a reading |
| Reasoning | "This evidence supports my claim because..." | Explaining why the evidence proves the claim |
| Reasoning | "This shows that ... because ..." | Naming the idea or rule that links the evidence to the claim |
Post only one starter per section, so the chart carries three in total. Every extra starter adds words, and a crowded chart is one students stop reading.
The plant example below is an original Chalkbox example to post beside the chart and fill in with the class. Its numbers are invented for the demo and are not real data.
The question is "Does a plant grow taller in sunlight than in a dark closet?"
| Section | Guiding question | Filled in with the class |
|---|---|---|
| Claim | "What is my answer to the question?" | Plants grow taller in sunlight than in a dark closet. |
| Evidence | "What data or quotes prove it?" | After two weeks, the plant by the window was 12 cm tall and the plant in the closet was 4 cm tall. (invented numbers for the demo) |
| Reasoning | "Why does this evidence prove my claim?" | Plants use light to make their food, so the plant with more light had more energy to grow. |
Three things to point out while you fill it in:
A CER anchor chart can take one of three teacher-drawn layouts, and each one suits a different group of students.
| Layout | What it looks like | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Three-column table | One column each for Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning | Older students, and for rewriting a paragraph |
| Three stacked boxes with arrows | Claim box, arrow, Evidence box, arrow, Reasoning box | Students who confuse the order of the three parts |
| Sentence-frame strip | A strip of sentence frames with blanks to fill in | Students who need support |
For older students who rewrite their paragraphs, start with the three-column table. Switch to stacked boxes if students keep mixing up the order, because the arrows show that claim leads to evidence and evidence leads to reasoning. Switch to the sentence-frame strip if students need support getting each part written at all.
The three sections stay the same in every subject, and only the wording inside Evidence and Reasoning changes. English language arts (ELA) and social studies charts ask for different evidence than a science chart.
| Version | What Evidence asks for | What Reasoning asks for |
|---|---|---|
| Science | Measurements with units | A named scientific principle |
| ELA and social studies | Accurate quotations | An explanation of how each quote supports the claim instead of repeating it |
Two more adjustments depend on who is in the room:
Six mistakes make a CER anchor chart harder to use, and each one has a direct fix:
A finished CER anchor chart stays useful when you keep pointing students back to it. Five ways to use it:
For annotated models, see our CER Examples. The CER Template page has a printable organizer with a 0 to 2 rubric. For a scoring rubric, see the Free 4-Point CER Rubric. To teach claim, evidence, and reasoning themselves, see How to Teach CER. For anchor charts in every subject, read our general anchor chart guide.
Draw three labeled sections, write one guiding question in each, and fill them in with the class from a short worked example: claim first, evidence second, reasoning last. Pick your layout, post the plant example beside a blank sheet of chart paper, and build your CER anchor chart with students in your next lesson.
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A CER is formatted as three parts in a fixed order: a one-sentence claim, then specific evidence, then reasoning. The evidence is data, observations, or quotes that support the claim. The reasoning explains why the evidence supports the claim and names the science idea, rule, or text logic that links them. On an anchor chart, the three parts become three labeled sections, left to right or top to bottom.
You write an anchor chart live with students during a lesson, then keep it on the wall as a reference. Use few words and one clear layout. For a CER chart, that means a title, three labeled sections, one guiding question per section, and one sentence starter at the bottom of each section.
A CER anchor chart holds a title, three labeled sections (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning), one guiding question under each label, and one sentence starter at the bottom of each section. A short worked example and the question it answers go beside the chart. Keep everything else off it, because a crowded chart is one students stop reading.
Yes, the wording inside the sections changes while the three-section layout stays the same. A science chart asks for measurements with units and names a scientific principle in Reasoning. An English language arts (ELA) or social studies chart asks for accurate quotations, plus reasoning that explains how each quote supports the claim instead of repeating it.
The chart should have three sentence starters, one at the bottom of each section. Write each one in students' own words after the class has filled in the section above it. The six starters in the table on this page are options to choose from, and posting all six would crowd the chart.