Weighing the Evidence is a free printable Grade 5 English worksheet on judging how well a claim is supported, aligned to Common Core standard RI.5.8. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
Sleep is not switching off. Parts of the brain are busier asleep than awake.
Two claims are well supported. The first is that sleep consolidates memory: during deep sleep, the day's experiences are replayed and moved from short-term storage into long-term. Interrupt deep sleep and recall of the previous day drops measurably.
The second is that sleep clears waste. The spaces between brain cells widen during sleep, and fluid washes through, removing proteins that build up while awake.
A third claim — that a particular number of hours suits everybody — is not supported. Need varies with age and between individuals, and self-reported sleep is unreliable.
Teenagers are a special case. Their body clocks genuinely shift later at puberty, which is a biological fact rather than a preference, and school start times mostly ignore it.
1. What is the author's purpose, and how do you know?
2. Three claims are made. Identify which evidence supports which, and which has none.
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.
Why the Thames Froze
Between 1309 and 1814 the Thames froze hard enough to walk on at least twenty-four times. Since 1814 it has not once.
The usual explanation is that the climate has warmed. That is part of it, and not most of it.
Old London Bridge had nineteen arches on wide stone piers. The piers took up so much of the channel that the bridge acted as a weir, slowing the water upstream almost to a standstill. Still water freezes; moving water does not.
The river was also shallower and wider then, spreading over land that has since been embanked. Shallow water loses heat faster.
Old London Bridge was demolished in 1831. The embankments were built between 1862 and 1874. The river that flows through London now is narrower, deeper and faster than the one that froze — and it would not freeze in a colder winter than any of those.
1. The text gives three reasons for the freezes. Identify them and say which is treated as least important.
2. What is the author's purpose, and how do you know?
LessonPrint · RI.5.8 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Weighing the Evidence
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. To separate what is well supported from what is not — each claim is labelled before its evidence. 2. Memory: the replay and the recall drop. Waste: the widening spaces and fluid. The fixed number of hours has no support and is rejected.
2.1. The bridge as a weir, the shallow wide channel, and a colder climate — the climate is called "part of it, and not most of it". 2. To correct a common explanation — the second paragraph names it and downgrades it before giving the real causes.
Questions about Weighing the Evidence
What does the Weighing the Evidence worksheet cover?
It practises judging how well a claim is supported — 2 questions for Grade 5, all on Common Core RI.5.8: Match each reason and piece of evidence to the point it supports. The instruction to pupils is “Read the text, then answer the questions”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which Common Core standard does Weighing the Evidence practise?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.8 — RI.5.8, in the Reading: Informational Text domain for Grade 5. The published standard reads: “Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which point(s).” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Weighing the Evidence is written for Grade 5, typically ages 10-11. It is one of the sheets on RI.5.8, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Weighing the Evidence come with an answer key?
Yes. All 2 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of Weighing the Evidence can I print?
25 — one per pupil, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.
Is Weighing the Evidence free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Weighing the Evidence, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
More practice for RI.5.8
Match each reason and piece of evidence to the point it supports.