Prairie River Academy

English Language Arts

Grade 11Unit 1Lesson 3

Ideas in American letters

Analyze the Assumptions Beneath a Claim

Today: Identify unstated beliefs required for an argument to function.

A

Begin

Warm-up

  1. 1.What claim is explicit?

  2. 2.What value is assumed?

B

Learn

Analyze the Assumptions Beneath a Claim

An assumption is a premise the writer relies on without fully proving. Analysis distinguishes assumptions from explicit claims.

State the claim, ask what must be true for it to work, test the assumption, and consider audiences who may reject it.

Study the model

Claim → required belief → possible challenge

C

Read

Original PRA passage

If every child can read the town's laws, no official can easily make mystery serve as power.
ELA-11-01-03-01Original Prairie River Academy curriculumELA-11-01-03-01

Prairie River Academy

Analyze the Assumptions Beneath a Claim

Grade 11Practice and apply
D

Practice

Read, think, and respond

  1. 1.Name one assumption. ELA-11-01-03-Q1

  2. 2.Who might challenge it? ELA-11-01-03-Q2

  3. 3.What word reveals qualification? ELA-11-01-03-Q3

  4. 4.How does the qualification strengthen the claim? ELA-11-01-03-Q4

E

Apply

Use the lesson

Write a paragraph evaluating one assumption without dismissing the whole argument.

ELA-11-01-03-02Original Prairie River Academy curriculumELA-11-01-03-02