3259.3-5, CODE, Raczynski, Writing in Science and Social Studies

In this series of 3 brief videos, our main purpose is to illustrate a practical process for incorporating writing into science and social studies classrooms, in purposeful ways.

We define “purposeful” as writing that helps students learn and communicate content understanding.

Writing is simply a method we use to teach and assess content.

Step 1: Lay a foundation: Build students’ understanding of the vocabulary for informational writing, which is a common type of writing in science and social studies. (Video 1)

Step 2: Prioritize writing on standards that require higher-order, critical thinking. (We will explore examples). Build brief writing questions aligned to these. (Video 2)

Step 3: Guide students through these writing questions so that they are ultimately more successful when they respond independently. (Video 3)