How To Incorporate Writing Into Our Classrooms

1. How To Incorporate Writing Into Our Classrooms Social Studies Fall 2009

2. My Purpose: Give examples of TEACHING writing in the Social Studies classroom WITHOUT spending too much time on TEACHING writing in the Social Studies Classroom! Give examples of TEACHING writing in the Social Studies classroom WITHOUT spending too much time on GRADING writing in the Social Studies Classroom!

3. The Rubric: What we want If you can’t name it, you can’t fix it We want our students to write well

4. What is writing well? Our values are reflected in our rubric: Essential understanding Correct vocabulary usage Credible supporting details Focused discussion Organized Purposeful Legible Grammatically correct http://conleysocialstudies.wikispaces.com/file/view/MHS%20RUBRIC%20DRAFT%20Final%20Draft.doc

5. Our rubric FORMALLY assesses an END product It does NOT teach our students how to write well Our purpose today is to consider how to teach these skills in 180 days.

6. A note about style GOOD Nonfiction writers use a specific style If you forced George Will and Maureen Dowd to write on the same topic/content with same point of view – you would be able to determine who wrote what because they each write with their own unique STYLE You probably want students to learn their own style (without using first person pronouns) The best way to TEACH this skill is to expose them to good nonfiction writers (and this will improve reading skills!)

7. So, we are supposed to become writing teachers… Above all else please Remember:

8. Not all writing must be formally assessed!Not all writing must be formally assessed! Not all writing must be formally assessed! Not all writing must be formally assessed! Not all writing must be formally assessed! Not all writing must be formally assessed! Not all writing must be formally assessed! Not all writing must be formally assessed! Not all writing must be formally assessed! Not all writing must be formally assessed! Not all writing must be formally assessed! Not all writing must be formally assessed! Not all writing must be formally assessed! Not all writing must be formally assessed! Not all writing must be formally assessed! Not all writing must be formally assessed! Not all writing must be formally assessed!

9. It doesn’t all have to be graded. Assignments we collect to get a handle on student learning INFORMALLY are called FORMATIVE assessments (btw: the assignments we collect for a grade are called SUMMATIVE assessments)

10. Formative Assessments • You might make comments on these assignments • You might NOT make comments on these assignments • You might call these drafts • You might call these bell ringers • You might close a class with these assignments • You might ask for these in the middle of class when kids are getting bored or frustrated or too unfocused or the debate becomes too heated…

11. A FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT • Should be required • Should be written with complete sentences • Should be used as guide for you to determine what a student needs next (clarification, correction, acceleration of content…) • Could be used to direct student writing • Could be used to initiate future assignments • Could be used to document (but NOT grade!) student progress

12. We are CONSTANTLY complaining that GRADES don’t matter until kids enter 9th grade. This may be true…which means kids are very comfortable with doing things that don’t count but are required…

13. The 8th Grade Social Studies classes have been developing a TEAM BOB mentality: It’s all about differentiation It’s all about kids getting a grade for knowing the bottom line: essential questions assessed on a unit test…

14. How do we demand quality writing in our classrooms REGULARLY? Ultimately we would like our students to WRITE TO LEARN and to SHOW LEARNING THROUGH WRITING

15. To write well, students must write often. Not all writing must be formally assessed! Not all writing must be formally assessed! Not all writing must be formally assessed! Not all writing must be formally assessed! Not all writing must be formally assessed! Not all writing must be formally assessed! Not all writing must be formally assessed! Not all writing must be formally assessed!

16. By day 5 of class students should NOT be asking: “Does this have to be in complete sentences?” or “How long does this have to be?” STUDENTS should ALWAYS write with complete sentences and write in as many paragraphs as it takes to convey what is being asked!

17. Collecting something for a grade? Want students to write in paragraph form? Want to avoid MUDDLING through it all when you are grading? Ask students to highlight the clause/vocabulary words that you are specifically looking for with a marker or circle or underline. As the teacher you can give a point or two to complete sentence form and the majority of points to the correct answer! OR GIVE NO POINTS TO FORM! JUST REQUIRE IT AND ASK FOR REVISION IF STUDENTS WANT A GRADE!

18. Thought this was brilliant: When asking students to write an essay: Upon completion have students take 5 minutes to write the TOPIC of each paragraph in the left margin. This forces students to outline, provides them with a chance to review and revise their work AND Allows you to identify critical errors quickly!

19. Students need to SEE good writing HAPPENING! BTW: We know kids struggle with reading – helping them to see writing happen will strengthen their skills in reading.

20. Use consistent verbage when asking questions As the teacher, create the assignment with the SPECIFIC purpose in mind… Is the assignment an assessment of KNOWLEDGE or SYNTHSIS or _____? Use handout as a guide http://conleysocialstudies.wikispaces.com/Writing+Skills

21. The following are ideas that will help students to WRITE TO LEARN These suggestions will help you MODEL good writing and KEEP KIDS WRITING (and ENGAGED in what is happening in your class!)

22. Practice Thesis Writing As a Class • Present information to the class according to your own teaching style • In the last 5 minutes of class ask students to write a thesis statement for today’s discussion on a half sheet of paper – consider the purpose of the statement – is it argumentative or informative? • Collect these as students leave the door (or during class – whatever works for you!) • Read through them, choose the best 2 and the worst 2 - throw the rest away (not everything must be graded!) • Open the next day’s lesson with the best 2 and fix the worst 2 as a class – take less than 5 minutes

23. EVIDENCE GATHERING • Take a solid THESIS Statement (your creation, student creation – doesn’t matter) and ask students to use the textbook to PROVE it • This works great in small groups. Could easily be incorporated if you assign chapter reading as homework. • To DIFFERENTIATE give differently-abled students different levels of thesis statements using the same chapter information.

24. Current Events • Have students identify the basic thesis statement in journal articles or Op-Ed pieces in the newspaper (4 – 5 different articles) • In groups identify the EVIDENCE that the journalist uses to prove the thesis, write the evidence on the board • Have groups trade articles and check answers that are written on the board.

25. Entrance and Exit Slips Ask students to write for a full 5 minutes at the beginning or end of class to a TEACHER PROMPT. Collect these INFORMAL, FORMATIVE assessments and use them as a point of discussion/clarification in class. The purpose is to have students THINK about a subject, hold students ACCOUNTABLE and get them to WRITE 9th Grade: If you were __________ (key political figure from your chapter) how would you have handled Health Care in 2009? 10th Grade: How would you prioritize your country’s relationship with Lenin if you were Woodrow Wilson? Psychology: What do you conclude is more influential in the development of human behavior: nature or nurture? Civics Propose and alternative to the verbage in the 16th Amendment. Economics: Discuss the pros and cons of the free market system.

26. THINK-PAIR-SHARE • Great for before a test or quiz! • Give students a straightforward knowledge prompt • Give students 30 – 60 seconds thinking time to formulate an answer • Give students 2 – 3 minutes writing time (complete sentences/paragraph required) • Pair students with a partner (or have students pick partners so they feel comfortable enough to be wrong/corrected by another student) . Students TELL what they wrote (they don’t read it) so students need to fully articulate what they understand to be correct 9th grade: How would you differentiate between a hawk and a dove? 10th grade: What relationship exists between Locke and Hobbes? Psychology: What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative research? Civics: How do Republicans and Democrats differ? Economics: How would you identify opportunity cost?

27. FOUR SQUARE REFLECTION • This is best used after READING something in class – these boxes should all be completed with COMPLETE SENTENCES in 1 PARAGRAPH • Students take out a blank piece of paper and divide it into 4 boxes (STATE/REFLECT/PREDICT/VISUALIZE) • In the STATE box, students STATE what they learned in the reading • In the REFLECT box, students are prompted to WONDER about something they read: what aspect of the text got them thinking or reminded them of something else, what questions linger as a result? This is also a GREAT READING STRATEGY! • In the PREDICT box, students are asked to speculate on what might happen next or what the next chapter/section might be about • In the VISUALIZE box, students must draw a symbol that will help them remember what the section/chapter was ESSENTIALLY about

28. EXAMPLEStudent example taken from Peery, Writing Matters in Every Classroom. p. 66

29. A thought to the struggling writer: • Not every struggling writer is Special Ed right! • Writing is a process that teachers want to see in the 4th or 5th stage. • Don’t discount students who are struggling to get off the ground with Prewriting (1st stage), Drafting (2nd stage) or Revising (3rd stage). • You may also want to consider NOTE TAKING as a way to help students write. • Cornell Notes are a type of note taking developed by a Cornell University professor for college students to succeed in College.

30. Cornell Notes • One sheet of notebook paper folded in half length wise (hot dog style ), then folded up at the bottom about one- quarter of the way up (hamburger style ) • The left column is used for BIG CONCEPTS/EVENTS/CONCRETE IDEAS • The right column is used for details about the left column • The bottom row is used as a summary box

31. Student Example taken from Peery, Writing Matters In Every Classroom, p. 62

32. You can do the same Cornell Note form using Marzano’s Nonlinguistic approach as well Ask for pictures and symbols in the right column ALWAYS ASK FOR A SUMMARY IN PARAGRAPH FORM

33. A thought to the struggling writer: Perhaps you supply the Left Column of Cornell notes for your struggling readers/writers and ask them to write the provide the Right Column and the Summary?

34. One more thought on Cornell Note taking • The Left Column could be the title of SUBHEADINGS in a chapter or the KEY VOCABULARY WORDS • The Struggling Writer doesn’t need LESS writing they just need more STRUCTURE for writing!

35. The ESSAY • Our goal as the Medina High School Social Studies Department is to DEVELOP STRONGER NONFICTION WRITERS • We all assign essays • We all get frustrated by the low quality HOW DO WE FIX THIS?

36. Well… Provided you have modeled good writing, the quality you receive should improve But WHAT IF IT DOESN’T???

37. Student Reflectiontaken from Smith, Everything You Ever Needed to Run Your Writing Classroom On the day the draft is due: • Organizational issues will appear if you ask students to write the outline in the left margin • You must also ask students to WRITE DIRECTLY TO YOU ABOUT WHAT THEY HAVE WRITTEN

38. STUDENT REFLECTIONtaken from Smith, Everything You Ever Needed… Students should be asked to answer the following questions on the day an essay/longer assignment is due: • What is the overall theme of this paper? (Students must think about what they are trying to say and articulate it in 10 words or less without repeating any single sentence in their paper - this will PIN them down to their POINT!) • List 3 questions you would ask a reader. (Forces students to consider the reader and understand that someone really is going to have an opinion about what they have said – the writer can then ask for advice on how to do something better) • Tell one change you made during the revision process and how you think it was effective. (This will show students that change is good when it comes to writing!) • If you had more energy or more time, what would you change? (This will help students see the value in strengthening weakness and by identifying weakness teachers can better direct students toward success!)

39. Student Reflection – MODIFIED taken from Smith, Everything You Ever Needed… This kind of Reflection might benefit a struggling writer find a voice and might assist you in finding specific ways to help an individual student. • Explain your writing process. Where/When do you research. Where/When do you write. Do you handwrite or just sit and type? How often did you reread your writing? How often did you rewrite sentences or rearrange paragraphs? • Which parts of the writing were easy? Why? • Which parts were hard? Why? • How did writing this paper/essay affect your composing processes? Have you made any changes to the way you typically write on the basis of writing this paper/essay? What writing ideas were new to you in this unit? What writing ideas were old acquaintances? Which ones changed? • What do you believe is the most important thing for me to talk about in my commentary on your paper?