Leslie Robertson Writing in from an Academic, Social and Expressive Lens.

Leslie Robertson

Writing in from an Academic, Social and

Expressive Lens

Power of 3What is true literacy? How do we help develop it?

More than Reading and Writing!

Ability to engage in advanced reading, writing, speaking and listening regardless of the setting.

“Adolescents entering the adult world in the 21st century will read and write more than at any other time in human history. They will need advanced levels of literacy to perform their jobs, run their households, act as citizens, and conduct their personal lives." -- Richard Vaca, author of Content Area Reading: Literacy and Learning Across the Curriculum

If we believe it is important, here’s the most important question…

“With content standards looming, it's easy to only focus on the content we teach, and covering material. We have so much to tell students and share with them. However, are we affording students enough time daily to practice crucial thinking and communication skills?”

Curriculum and Content

Literacy Instruction and OPPORTUNITY

Do you spend the majority of the class period talking or lecturing while they listen?

Literacy Instruction and OPPORTUNITY

Do students have many opportunities to discover and discuss information on their own?

Academic and Accountable Talk helps them PROCESS ideas, concepts and content.

Let them talk for 2-3 minutes for every 5-7 minutes that you

Helps students make sense of what they hear and read or PROCESS ideas, concepts and content.

Students should engage in

We are all reading instructors!Scaffolding the reading by using effective strategies for pre-, during, and after reading, such as: previewing text, reading for a purpose, making predictions and connections, think alouds, and using graphic organizers will support all our students, and not just struggling readers and English learners.

So do we teach KIDS?

or

Do we teach content?Both

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RAhPs0ZNpA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFME4dpBrOE

More promptsYour school is going to get a new mascot. Think about a mascot you would like to recommend. Write and email to you principal convincing them to choose your mascot.

Consider:• Read?• Debate?• Plan?• Write?

Writing Across the Social Studies Curriculum Guide

• Government• Historical documents• Comparing culture• Technology changing over time• Historical events (American Revolution, industrialism, westward expansion, immigration, exploration, etc.• Social Institutions (comparing)• Early Native Americans• Human capital• Production/consumption• Scarcity• Supply and demand• Competition• Geography influencing where people live• Advances in technology, people adapting to their environment (dams, reservoirs, etc)

Writing Across the Science Curriculum Guide

• Fossils• Sources of Fuel• Life Cycles• Energy, including chemical and solar, potential and kinetic, electric• Weather• Changes to the earth’s surface (landslides, floods, volcanoes, erosion)• Sun’s energy• Sun-earth system• Moon• Behavior of light• Extinction• Changes to ecosystem• Structures of plants and animals• Changes to ecosystem

Science

1. State Topic – Volcanoes2. What are they? 3. Where are they?4. How do they work/operate?5. Conclude

Math Ideas

1.Process – decide what you will do “jot” down key words2.Inform – collect the data you will use3.Compute – solve4.State Solution and Prove

Social Studies

1. State Topic – Causes of WWI2. Causes – unrest in E. Europe3. Battles – Bulge, Normandy, Iwo Jima4. Important People – Hitler5. Conclude

Topics• Social media – worth the risk?• Homeschooling• Prison reform• Global warming• Should government spend more money on space exploration• Is cloning people a good idea• Should we build more nuclear power plants• Should we plan a trip to the moon to investigate its water• Should we use biofuels• Electoral college• Should we keep animals in zoos• Should publicizing criminal activities be banned? (CSI, Law and Order, etc)• Can you find any examples of a justified attack on another country in history?• Is the law easier on criminals• should the government have a say in our diet?

Should the racing industry be required to use biofuels?Should the government provide health care?Is global climate change man-made?Is our election process fair?Is torture ever acceptable?

Recognizing Components, Genre and MODE• Occasionally we find ourselves in dangerous situations.• Think about a time when you had a narrow escape from danger. Tell

a story about your experience.Topic: __________________-Purpose: (Inform, Describe, Convince, Story)Type: (Expository/Informational, Descriptive, Persuasive/Opinion, Narrative)

Practice just narrowing the scope – Identify the organization/structure

Hook: (5-10 minutes) Play the “tomahawk” chop song—easily obtained from Youtube. This is the music played at Atlanta Braves games and at the Florida State University - Seminole football games. While the music is playing also show the popular images of Indian mascots. Discuss any local American Indian mascots to show that may resonate with your students. Have students share words and terms that come to mind when they hear the music and see the mascots. Define mascot and have the students share what the purpose of a mascot is.

Introduce the Question: Should Wisconsin ban the use of American Indian mascots and logos in their public schools? Have the students write this question in their notebooks. In Wisconsin, legislation was introduced that dealt with this topic, Assembly Bill 35, in the 2009- 2010 legislative session. I shared this with students and discussed the legislation, giving them the opportunity to weigh in on the issue.

The Discussion: Put the students in heterogeneous groups of four. Hand out the pro/con packets on the two positions. In each group one pair will find arguments to support the position that Wisconsin

should ban the use of American Indian mascots and the other pair will find arguments to support the position that Wisconsin should not ban the use of American Indian mascots. At this point, students can physically move away from their groups of four to concentrate and work with their partner.

For this lesson, I began with two short videos that presented arguments that both sides could use. The partners were to take notes on arguments that supported their assigned position.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71de7iPZdYM&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH2ati2ysjQ&feature=related

After watching the two short videos, the students worked with their partner to identify, at minimum, four quality arguments to support their position. The students wrote their argument in their notebooks. The students then got back into their groups of four and shared their arguments with the other partners. The idea at this point is to share information, not argue about the issue. There is plenty of time allotted for students to share their opinions.

Students return to their groups of four and share their best arguments and the new one that they came up with. This stage can feel awkward, but I discuss with the students the value of looking at both sides of the issue.

Now, the students can abandon their assigned positions and discuss the issue. The goal is to have an authentic discussion in their small groups. I often set a discussion goal for the students. For example, the goal is to discuss the issue for five minutes apiece, etc.

Have students watch and compare the 1960 Kennedy / Nixon debate and the most recent debate (2008). You can use the attached Venn diagram for students to organize their information.

a. How has time and technology changed the process. b. What is similar? What is different? What has stayed the same? c. What differences do you see in the types of questions asked?

Past Presidential Debate Information 1960 Presidential Election – Kennedy/Nixon On September 26, 1960, Senator John F. Kennedy (D-MA) and Vice President Richard Nixon (R) participated in the first-ever televised presidential debate. It served as a precedent for all others to come. While seventy million Americans viewed this debate on television, many others still tuned in through the radio. History claims that more television viewers believed Kennedy won, while many radio listeners thought Nixon did. Watch Clip (4 min.) | Read Debate Transcript Questions for Analysis

1. What was the topic discussed in this clip? Which candidate gave the stronger response? Explain your answer. 2. In your opinion, which candidate appeared to be more comfortable on camera? Which candidate was more appealing to the camera? Explain the basis of your answer.

3. Do you think the role television played in the debates made a difference in the outcome of the 1960 election?

The is there…that’s not the

The is are we willing to commit to instructional practices we work? Are we willing to be

?