1. Teacher guide

Grades 3-5 · 30-35 minutes · Print-first lesson · No internet or student accounts

Students check four simulated bot responses against a calculation or a classroom record. They name a verdict, cite evidence, and explain what they can and cannot conclude.

Initial edition. Not yet classroom-piloted. All bot responses and classroom records in this packet were written by ARQIV for this activity. They are fictional, not outputs from a live bot or records of real children.

Prepare and print

Keep sections 1 and 5 for yourself. Give each pair sections 2-3 and each student section 4. Print section 6 for every two students, then cut it in half. Bring pencils; optional counters or a drawing can help check the math. This HTML is the readable equivalent of the six-page PDF; browser print pagination may vary.

The checking routine

1. Find the claim. What exactly does the response say?
2. Check the evidence. Read the matching record; calculate when useful.
3. Choose a verdict. Explain with a record label, numbers, or exact detail.
4. Say what comes next. Correct an error or name missing information.

Three verdicts

Supported

The available evidence agrees with the claim.

Contradicted

The available evidence shows the claim is wrong.

Need more evidence

The available evidence does not settle the claim.

Teach it in 30 minutes

1. 3 min | Launch. Ask: “Does a confident answer always have good evidence?” Explain that these are made-up bot answers; students do not use a live AI tool.
2. 5 min | Model A. Read Card A and Record A aloud. Draw six groups of four or add six fours. Model the verdict and a corrected claim; students log it.
3. 12 min | Check B-D. Pairs read each card and its record. Each student completes the log. Ask: “Which part of the record supports your verdict?”
4. 7 min | Compare. Discuss all three verdicts, especially C. Missing information does not mean a claim is false. Use section 5 to review reasoning.
5. 3 min | Exit ticket. Students complete a half-sheet independently. For a 35-minute lesson, add five minutes to compare two ways of checking A or D.

Access and extension: Read aloud, pair readers, accept spoken responses or drawings, and use the sentence starters in section 4. Invite early finishers to write a new claim supported by one record.

Use: Print and adapt for your own teaching with ARQIV attribution retained. Share the resource-page link with colleagues. Do not resell this packet.

2. Four bot responses

Read each response. Use the matching record in section 3. These are simulated responses written for practice. Check the claim, not how confident it sounds. You may cut along the lines or keep this section whole.

Verdicts: Supported / Contradicted / Need more evidence

3. Check the records

All records below describe an invented classroom. For this activity, treat the recorded facts as accurate.

Record A: Pencil count

There are exactly 6 cups on the supply shelf. Each cup contains exactly 4 pencils. Count only the pencils in these cups.

• Cup 1: 4 pencils
• Cup 2: 4 pencils
• Cup 3: 4 pencils
• Cup 4: 4 pencils
• Cup 5: 4 pencils
• Cup 6: 4 pencils

Record B: Posted Room 12 schedule

A schedule tells us what is planned; it does not prove that a visit happened.

Record C: Favorite activity survey

Room 12 has 24 students. So far, 10 students have answered this question: “Which is your favorite activity: drawing, reading, or building?”

Of those 10 answers: drawing 10, reading 0, building 0. The other 14 students have not answered. Their favorite activities are not recorded.

Record D: Paper bridge test log

The same paper bridge was tested twice. The log records the number of counters the bridge held in each test.

• Test 1: 11 counters
• Test 2: 14 counters

Use these two counts to compare the tests. The record does not tell us why the counts changed.

4. My evidence log

Name: ___________________________________   Date: __________________

For every claim, circle a verdict. Write or draw evidence, then explain your next step. Use the back if you need more room.

Starters: “Record __ says __, so __.” “The corrected claim is __.” “To decide, I would need __.” “This is supported because __.”

5. Teacher answer key

Accept equivalent explanations, accurate calculations, drawings, and spoken responses. Judge the reasoning, not exact wording.

A Contradicted

Record A gives six groups of four: 6 x 4 = 24. Repeated addition also works: 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 = 24. The response gets the groups right but its total of 20 is wrong.

Corrected claim: "There are 24 pencils altogether."

B Supported

Record B lists "Library visit" for Thursday. This supports the claim about the posted schedule. It does not establish that the visit actually happened.

Reasonable next step: Keep the wording "scheduled to"; cite the Thursday entry.

C Need more evidence

Record C tells us that all 10 students who answered chose drawing. We do not know the favorites of the other 14 students. All 24 might prefer drawing, or some might not. Neither result is established.

Needed evidence: Ask the other 14 students the same question and record their answers. A supported rewrite is: "All 10 students who answered so far chose drawing."

D Supported

Record D gives 14 counters in Test 2 and 11 in Test 1. The difference is 14 – 11 = 3 counters. That supports "3 more."

Reasonable next step: Show the subtraction or count up from 11 to 14. Do not invent a reason for the change.

Exit ticket key and quick check

Expected verdict: Contradicted. The record has 8 red-tray counters and 10 blue-tray counters. Since 8 is less than 10, the red tray does not have more. A valid correction: “The blue tray has 2 more counters than the red tray.” Also accept “The red tray has fewer counters.”

Look for: (1) a defensible verdict, (2) the correct record details or calculation, and (3) an explanation that connects them. If students label C “Contradicted,” revisit the difference between missing evidence and evidence of an error.

Questions for discussion

• Can part of a response be correct while its conclusion is wrong?
• How is checking a schedule different from checking a calculation?
• What would help us decide C? Why is guessing not enough?

6. One final check

Cut into two half-sheets. Complete independently. The new record below is fictional, too.