Healthy Debate

This editorial analysis worksheet is designed for students in Grades 7, 8, and 9 to strengthen critical reading and argumentative reasoning skills. Students read an editorial discussing whether schools should ban junk food and analyze how the author builds the argument by identifying claims, supporting evidence, and counterarguments. Learners then summarize the author’s central stance, reinforcing comprehension of persuasive text structure.

Learning Goals

• Analyzing Arguments & Claims (Grades 7-9)
  Students identify the main claims presented in an editorial.
• Evaluating Supporting Evidence
  Learners distinguish facts, examples, and reasoning that support each claim.
• Identifying Counterarguments
  Students analyze how opposing viewpoints are acknowledged or addressed.
• Summarizing Central Argument
  The activity reinforces concise explanation of the author’s overall position.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource
  Designed by educators to align with middle school ELA standards.
• Real-World Policy Topic
  Junk food policies increase relevance and student engagement.
• Active Annotation Strategy
  Underlining claims and evidence promotes close reading.
• Flexible Classroom Use
  Ideal for nonfiction units, debate prep, persuasive writing instruction, or assessment.

This printable worksheet gives students meaningful practice with evaluating argumentative texts and understanding how evidence supports claims. By analyzing the structure of an editorial in Healthy Debate, learners strengthen critical thinking, comprehension, and persuasive reading skills. Suitable for classroom instruction or homeschool use, this no-prep resource supports confident engagement with editorials and prepares students for effective argument analysis and response writing.

This worksheet is part of our Grade 8 Reading Comprehension collection.