Lesson 12: Braiding Sweetgrass, Listening for the Argument

Turn-and-Talk

Instruct students to take out their Homework Journals from the previous lesson. Lesson 10’s homework is as follows: Read the chapter “Maple Nation: A Citizenship Guide” in Braiding Sweetgrass (pp. 147–152). In your Journal, annotate one or two places where Kimmerer gives advice, warning, or guidance about how humans should act toward the natural world. Instruct students to turn and talk with a partner about the following question.

Say these Directions: Turn and talk with your partner about the homework reading by discussing the following question.

• What are one or two places where Kimmerer gives advice, warning, or guidance about how humans should act toward the natural world?

  • Kimmerer explains her worry about the “climate of New England” and how it could affect the “sugar maples” (p. 152). She is enlisting our help to act on “behalf” of our fellow “citizens,” the maples (p. 152). She is saying that we should use the same governmental powers we have to stand up for the maples.

Connection to Today's Learning

• Say: During our last lesson, we looked at how Kimmerer builds ideas in writing. Today, we’re going to listen to the way a speaker builds an argument through an interview.

Turn-And-Talk

• Say: When you analyze a written argument, you look for the way the author builds an argument using claims, evidence, and reasoning. In Unit 8.2, you practiced argument delineation and evaluation by breaking down arguments into their parts, including claims, evidence, and reasoning. Today, you are bringing that same skill into spoken arguments.

• Say: Today, we are going to apply that thinking to listening. Listening works differently from reading an argument. When people speak:

  • They don’t always state their claim in one clear sentence.

  • They may build ideas gradually.

  • They often use stories, examples, or reflections instead of formal evidence.

So as listeners, our task is to figure out:

• What argument is being built?

• How does the speaker develop that argument?

Review the following argument terms with students.

Argument Terms:

• claim: the position a speaker wants the audience to believe

• evidence: facts, examples, details, or experiences used to support the claim

• reasoning: the explanation that connects the evidence to the claim

• relevance: how directly the evidence supports the claim

• sufficiency: whether there is enough evidence to support the claim

• soundness: whether the reasoning is logical and makes sense

• irrelevant evidence: evidence that is not connected closely enough to the claim

• delineate: to trace and separate the parts of an argument clearly

Display and read aloud this line from Braiding Sweetgrass:

• “Science and traditional knowledge may ask different questions and speak different languages, but they converge because they both truly listen to the plants.”

• Say: This line is a clear example of a claim in writing. When we listen to a spoken claim, it might not sound as direct. Instead, we may need to figure it out by listening to how the speaker builds their claim over the course of their conversation.

• Say: Today, we are going to listen to an interview to delineate a speaker’s argument. Before we listen to the full recording, let’s practice identifying the claim in an argument.

Say these Directions: Read the following statement. Talk with your partner about the statement, using the questions to guide your discussion.

• Nature can be a teacher because living systems show balance, cooperation, and limits that humans can learn from.

  • What is the claim in this statement?

    • The claim is that nature can be a teacher for humans.

  • What part of the statement acts like evidence or support?

    • The support is the part about living systems showing balance, cooperation, and limits.

  • How does that support help explain the claim?

    • It helps explain the claim by listing examples of what nature can teach humans.

Connection to Today's Learning

• Say: Now that we’ve reviewed how to delineate a speaker’s argument, you’re going to try it out while listening to an interview.

Part A: Delineating a Spoken Argument (SL.8.3) (15 minutes)

Search for an interview with Kimmerer or a similar naturalist and activist (e.g., Jane Goodall) discussing nature as a source of knowledge alongside science. This interview should be either a video or audio form (e.g., radio interview, podcast, etc.). An example might be Jane Goodall’s Hopecast podcast: “Robin Wall Kimmerer - Hope is the Power of Plants and Indigenous Knowledge.”

Group Accountability Share

Transition students into small groups. Explain that students will listen to an audio recording of an interview. Tell students they will listen to the selected recording twice. Distribute 3-Column Chart graphic organizers to each student.

Say these Directions: Write the headings “Claims,” “Evidence,” and “Reasoning” in the columns of your organizer. You will listen to the recording twice. The first time you listen, you will jot down one or two claims that the speaker makes. When the recording is done, your group will discuss the claims everyone jotted down. Then, you will listen a second time to identify the evidence and reasoning the speaker uses to support their claims.

Say these Directions: Listen to the recording the first time and use the 3-Column Chart graphic organizer to track the speaker’s claims.

Play the selected recording for the first listen.

• Say: With your group, discuss the claims you identified.

Next, transition students to listening to the recording a second time.

• Say: As you listen again, record evidence and reasoning that the speaker uses to support their claim.

Play the recording a second time.

• Say: With your group, discuss the evidence and reasoning the speaker uses to support their claims.

After having groups discuss the evidence and reasoning, transition them into a group discussion using the Group Accountability Share routine.

• Say: Now you will take part in a Group Accountability Share. One member from each group will share your group’s response to one of the following questions.

• Ask: What is one specific claim the speaker develops?

  • One specific claim is that humans can learn from the natural world, not just use it. The speaker presents nature as a source of knowledge that can guide human choices.

• Ask: What evidence or examples does the speaker use to support that claim?

  • The speaker uses examples such as observing plants, noticing how living systems balance themselves, or describing practices that grew from paying close attention to the land. Those details act as evidence because they show how knowledge can come from nature.

• Ask: How does the speaker connect the evidence to the claim?

  • The speaker explains that if living systems have already learned how to survive through balance, reciprocity, and limits, then humans can study those systems and learn from them too. That explanation is the reasoning because it connects the examples back to the claim.

• Ask: Which claim did your group decide was the strongest, and why?

  • Our group decided the strongest claim was that nature is a teacher because the speaker kept returning to examples that showed learning from the natural world.

Part B: Evaluating Evidence and Reasoning (SL.8.3) (15 minutes)

Group Accountability Share

Keep students in their small groups from the previous activity. Tell them they will now evaluate the argument they delineated in the previous activity.

Remind students that they are working from their notes in their 3-Column Chart graphic organizer and that they are not expected to remember everything from the recording. Their goal is to judge how well the speaker supports the claims they identified.

Say these Directions: Stay with your group and, using the argument you delineated in the previous activity, you are now going to evaluate it. You will work with your group to discuss whether the evidence is relevant, whether there is sufficient evidence, and whether the reasoning is sound. Your goal is not just to say the argument is good or bad; your goal is to explain why. As you discuss, consider the following questions.

Instruct students to discuss the following questions to evaluate the speaker’s argument.

• Is the evidence relevant? Does it directly support the claims made? Explain.

  • Yes, most of the evidence is relevant because the examples and observations connect directly to the speaker’s claim that humans can learn from nature. The details are not random; they help show why nature can be a source of knowledge.

• Is there enough evidence? Is it sufficient to support the claims? Explain.

  • The evidence is mostly sufficient because the speaker does not rely on only one detail. She uses more than one example or explanation during the interview, which makes the claim feel stronger and less like a personal opinion.

• Is the reasoning sound? Does it explain how the evidence supports the claims? Explain.

  • The reasoning is sound because the speaker explains that observing balance, cooperation, and long-term relationships in nature can teach humans how to act more responsibly, so the listener can follow the logic.

• Is there any irrelevant evidence used? If so, how is it used, and why is it irrelevant?

  • I didn’t notice irrelevant evidence because most of the details connected back to the main claim. If something were less relevant, it would be a detail that was interesting but didn’t help explain the idea, but it did add to the interview cleverly.

• How does hearing the speaker deepen or sharpen an idea you’ve already read in Braiding Sweetgrass?

  • Hearing her speak makes the idea feel more immediate. The examples and tone help show how strongly she believes that humans should learn from nature. This deepens the idea because her tone and examples make the argument feel more immediate. In both mediums, she values nature as a teacher, but hearing her voice sharpens how strongly she believes humans have responsibilities to listen and respond.

Lead a Group Accountability Share by asking one member from each group to share their group’s response to one of the following questions.

Turn-and-Talk

Have students turn and talk with a partner about the following question.

Say these Directions: Turn to your partner and answer the question below.

• Why is it important to have relevant and sufficient evidence when making a spoken argument?

• Relevant and sufficient support is important because it helps the audience understand and trust the claim being presented. When a speaker uses clear examples that connect directly to the claims, the argument feels more convincing. Without strong support, the claims may sound like an opinion instead of something the audience can believe.

Instruct students to complete the homework in preparation for the next lesson.

• Read “The Honorable Harvest” in Braiding Sweetgrass (pp. 153–175). In your Journal, annotate one or two moments where you see connections to ideas we have already discussed: reciprocity, limits, gratitude, or thriving.