This article is organized around describing a pair of resources developed to support student and teacher use of the instructional model Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning (CER) in the classroom and incorporate writing as a meaningful part of their science instruction. Project LISTO developed and put the Scaffolding Scientific Explanations (SSE) resources in the hands of teachers across Texas to help alleviate writing challenges common to typical science classrooms. The authors found that teachers' use of the SSE handout improved student writing ability and allowed teachers to see student thinking. The SSE handout is one more tool for a teacher to strengthen students' ability to construct evidence-based explanations.