Four-Day Debate

This argumentative reading and writing worksheet is designed for students in Grades 7, 8, and 9 to strengthen critical reading, reasoning, and evidence-based evaluation skills. Students read an article debating whether schools should adopt a four-day school week and then write a short analytical response assessing the strength of the author’s claims, supporting evidence, and counterarguments while identifying areas that are persuasive and areas that need improvement.

Learning Goals

• Evaluating Argumentative Texts (Grades 7-9)
  Students assess the clarity and strength of claims in a nonfiction argument.
• Analyzing Reasoning & Evidence
  Learners examine how evidence is used and whether it effectively supports claims.
• Counterargument Awareness
  Students evaluate how opposing viewpoints are addressed.
• Critical Response Writing
  The activity builds balanced, evidence-based analytical writing skills.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource
  Designed by educators to align with middle school ELA standards.
• Real-World School Topic
  The four-day school week debate increases relevance and engagement.
• Structured Evaluation Focus
  Prompts guide students to judge effectiveness, not just summarize.
• Flexible Classroom Use
  Ideal for nonfiction units, debate prep, discussion starters, or assessment.

This printable worksheet gives students meaningful practice with evaluating arguments, analyzing evidence, and writing critical responses. By examining the strengths and weaknesses of a four-day school week argument, learners strengthen reasoning, comprehension, and persuasive writing foundations. Suitable for classroom instruction or homeschool use, this no-prep resource supports confident analysis of nonfiction texts and thoughtful development of evidence-based opinions.

This worksheet is part of our Grade 9 Reading Comprehension collection.