Finders Keepers?

Project the Google Slides version of Vocabulary: Definitions and Practice on your whiteboard. Review the definitions and complete the activity as a class. Highlighted words: empathy, ethics, obligated, practical, principled. Audio pronunciations of the words and a read-aloud of the definitions are embedded on the slides. Optionally, print the PDF version or share the slideshow link directly to your LMS and have students preview the words and complete the activity independently before class.

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• For students’ first read, have them follow along as they listen to the audio read-aloud, located in the Resources tab in Teacher View and at the top of the story page in Student View. 
• Have students silently reread the article to themselves.
• Poll the class and tally the results on the board: 
  • “Should you keep money you find on the ground?” 
  • “No matter what you personally think about keeping the money, who do you think makes the better argument: Oliver or Ava?” 
• Now trace and evaluate the arguments in each essay:

1. Read the directions in the Scavenger Hunt box on page 11 at the bottom of the digital story page. If you need to review the bolded academic vocabulary in the box, here are definitions and examples: 

central claim: the big idea that the author supports in their argument; their position, belief, or viewpoint
Example: School should start later.

reasons: the grounds on which a central claim is based; the individual reasons that support or prove the central claim
Example: Middle school-aged kids need more sleep.

supporting evidence: facts, statistics, and examples that show why a reason should be believed; evidence and reasons that support and “hold up” a claim    
Example: A study by the Sleep Institute found that 47 percent of kids aren’t getting enough sleep.

counterclaim: an acknowledgment of a concern or disagreement from those with opposing viewpoints 
Example: Some may argue that starting school later won’t help kids get more sleep, that they’ll just go to bed later.

rebuttal: an author’s direct response to an opposing viewpoint or claim (the “comeback” to a counterclaim)
Example: Some may argue that starting school later won’t help kids get more sleep, that they’ll just go to bed later.

For more argument terms support, see our Argument Terms Glossary, found in the Resource Library at Scope Online.

2. Project Oliver’s letter and do a think-aloud that models each step in the Scavenger Hunt. Students can mark along in their magazines with you, or fill in the Scavenger Hunt graphic organizer found at Scope Online. This activity is offered on two levels; the lower-level version has students identify central claims, reasons, and supporting evidence only.

• Identify Oliver’s central claim. (What does Oliver think?)

First, ask students: “Based on his letter, how would Oliver respond to the question in the headline: Should you keep money you find on the ground?” (Oliver would say, “Yes, you should keep money you find on the ground.”)

Think aloud: “I’m going to circle lines that express this big idea: ‘We found it, so it’s ours.’

• Underline Oliver’s reasons. (Why does he think that?)

Think aloud: “I just circled Oliver’s central claim—that is, what Oliver thinks. Now I’m going to underline his reasons—or why he thinks what he thinks. I’m going to underline ‘I know you’re hesitant to keep the money, but it wouldn’t be wrong if we did’ and ‘Keeping money that you find on the street isn’t stealing.’ Then I’m going to underline ‘Besides, no one is going to judge us if we keep the money. In fact, plenty of people in our position would do the same.’”

• Put check marks on two pieces of supporting evidence. (How does he know?)

Think aloud: “Can I find information Oliver provides to back up his reasons?” Then draw students’ attention to the following two pieces of evidence: (1) ‘It’s not like we’re snatching $100 out of someone’s wallet. We have no idea who dropped this money. We don’t know if that person is looking for it, or if they even realize that it’s gone.’ (2) ‘According to a 2025 Scholastic survey of 50 middle schoolers, nearly 84 percent said they would keep the money that they found on the ground.’”

• Star the counterclaim. (What does the other side say?)

Think aloud: “Where does Oliver acknowledge a concern or concerns from the opposing viewpoint? I’m going to star ‘Still, I understand that the money doesn’t technically belong to us.’”

• Put a double star next to his rebuttal. (What is his response to the other side?)

Think aloud: “Does Oliver have a comeback for the viewpoint that the money doesn’t belong to them? Yes. He says, ‘The best-case scenario would definitely be to return the money to the owner. I just don’t think that’s possible. The person who dropped the money is probably long gone by now.’”

3. Have students work in pairs to complete the Scavenger Hunt for Ava’s letter, optionally using the Scavenger Hunt graphic organizer available at Scope Online. Then share out responses as a class. Sample responses:

Central claim: “Keeping the cash = stealing.” Students might also say, “All I feel is bad for the person who was unlucky enough to lose this money.”

Reasons: “But my empathy for the person who lost the money is just one reason I think it would be wrong to keep it. It’s also wrong because keeping the money would, in fact, be stealing. That’s not just my opinion; that’s the law.”

Supporting evidence: “It’s actually illegal to keep money that you find on the street”;
“. . . most states say to hand the cash over to the police and let them handle it.”; “If people in some survey said they believe that it’s OK to steal candy from a store, would you think that it’s OK too? I don’t think so.”

Counterclaims: “The survey that you point to is interesting . . .”; “I know this probably doesn’t seem like a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. There are way worse things a person can do, right?”

Rebuttals: “. . . but the fact that other people would keep the money doesn’t make it right. If people in some survey said they believe that it’s OK to steal candy from a store, would you think that it’s OK too?”; “But this is about ethics. And doing the right thing here matters to me—even if it seems unimportant.”

Discuss: Which evidence do you find most convincing in each essay? Least convincing? What do Oliver and Ava agree about? Are there any important reasons you think they left out of their arguments? Answers will vary.

Have students respond to the following questions in writing:

Who makes the stronger argument? 
Should you keep money you find on the ground?