Challenge the Text

This worksheet helps students in Grades 6, 7, and 8 strengthen critical reading, argument analysis, and reasoning skills by closely examining a persuasive passage. Students move beyond surface comprehension by generating thoughtful questions that challenge the author’s assumptions, logic, and evidence, encouraging active inquiry and deeper engagement with argumentative texts.

Academic Focus

• Critical Questioning (Grades 6-8)
  Generate meaningful questions that probe an author’s claims, assumptions, and reasoning.
• Argument & Evidence Evaluation
  Analyze the strength, relevance, and sufficiency of evidence used to support claims.
• Logical Reasoning
  Identify weaknesses, gaps, or biases in persuasive arguments.
• Perspective-Taking
  Consider alternative viewpoints and reflect on agreement or disagreement with the author.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource
  Designed by educators to align with middle school ELA standards for argument analysis.
• Inquiry-Based Structure
  Encourages skepticism, curiosity, and independent thinking rather than passive reading.
• Explanation-Focused Prompts
  Students explain why each question matters, reinforcing metacognitive skills.
• Flexible Classroom Use
  Ideal for independent work, discussion, debate prep, or formative assessment.
• Low-Prep Format
  Print-and-go worksheet suitable for classroom or homeschool instruction.

This printable worksheet builds strong skills in critical questioning, evaluating arguments, and reasoning with evidence. By challenging a persuasive text and reflecting on their own position, students learn to engage thoughtfully with complex ideas and strengthen academic literacy. It’s an effective resource for fostering critical thinking in both classroom and homeschool learning environments.

This worksheet is part of our critical comprehension worksheets collection.