Writing in the
Read ing &
ial St udies
Soc
June 30, 2009
Glenn Wiebe
glennw@essdack
.org

“If teaching were the same as
telling, we’d all be so smart
we could hardly stand it.”
Mark Twain

Sticky ideas?

Strong reading & writing
skills are essential for deep
Social Studies learning

There are lots of
strategies we
can use

In other words, it’s possible to . . .

get to
the bigs!

Ready, Set, Go, Whoa!

Ready Set Go Whoa
What do I What do I think I What new What questions do I
know? will learn? information do I still have about the
have? topic?

Santa Fe Trail
“Tomorrow we’re going to start a unit on
Santa Fe Trail. Read chapters 3 & 4 and fill in
the blanks”

One side write
• What you see
The other
• What you feel

Whadda ya see?

Whadda ya feel?

Whadda they all have
in common?

The Ruby Bridges Story

How and
why did
racism start?
Can you
prove that it
has ended?

Why?
Large amounts of content & little
time
• Much of that in textual formats

Why?
New & different resources are
available
• Newspapers
• Visuals
• Atlases
• Magazines
• Primary & secondary sources
• Video games
• Internet

Why?
Reading strategies are research
based

It’s good for kids

What we know / research
Students construct meaning by
connecting prior knowledge with
text

What we know / research
Students store prior knowledge in
“schemata”
• Predict, organize, compare/contrast and
understand

What do you see?
viscog.beckman.uiuc.edu/djs_lab/
demos.html

Can you recreate it?

You’ve got 30
seconds

What about a number?

17766024365911

You’ve got 30
seconds

Declaration of Independence

Minutes / hours / days

Emergencies

1776
60-24-365
911

What we know / research
Reading & writing are integrally
related
• Writing cements knowledge

What we know / research
Comprehension and learning increase
in collaborative settings

Whatcha’ thinking?

Myths / misconceptions
“Learning From What Doesn’t Work”
Code the Text
• Use three symbols
I knew this (x)
Important (!)
Confused (?)

Plan instruction around the
triad of reading strategies
Before During
reading reading
After reading

Before reading / strategies

Prediction activity
Discrepant Event Inquiry
Riddle / problem / question
Yes or no questions only
Timed

A cork placed in a glass that is
completely filled with water will
always move to the center of the
glass. Why?

“We never would have found this
person if the person hadn’t been so
hard to find.”

In 1837, a boy named John and his six
brothers and sisters lived on a farm
in a beautiful, wooded area in
Tennessee. His family planted corn &
raised animals for food and milk. His
father was a lawmaker and his
mother taught English in a local
school. They were happy &
prosperous.

In 1839, the family moved to a dry,
treeless, flat prairie where it was
difficult to raise enough food to
survive. Three of John’s siblings died.
Unable to make a living farming, his
father went back to being a legislator
and his mother wrote for a newspaper.
They missed their home in the
mountains.

When? Where? What?

“Backwards” DEI
• Student stands facing class
• Project picture on wall
• Student must ask the questions

Paul Harvey
• “The Rest of the Story”
William Bruce
• “Mindtronics”
• “Inquiry Alive”
• “Discrepant Event Inquiry”

Background knowledge

Background knowledge
List / Group / Label

Vocabulary
Must encounter words in context
more than once
• 7-14 meaningful exposures
• Associate images with word

Democracy

Taboo
• Student faces class / teacher
provides word with “taboo” words

Taboo
• Student faces class / teacher
provides word with “taboo” words
“Democracy”
vote people United States
election Constitution government

Vocabulary cheat sheet
• “Pre-load” words from text onto
bookmark
• Repeat words with students
• Give quick definition
• Students use while reading

commission rendezvous secede
diplomacy strategy tactic
corps regiment confederate

Word Sorts
• Geography terms
• Word Magnet

Word Sorts
• Geography terms
• Word Magnet
Verbal and Visual Word
Association
• Discrimination

Frayer Model

Remember
by Toni Morrison
I am poem

Preview text activities
Text Feature Hunt
THIEVES

Whatcha’ thinking?

During reading / strategies

Text structure
Description
Sequence
Cause & effect
Problem / solution
Compare & contrast

Text structure
Using photos or images, write a
paragraph using a specific text
structure

Clarifying
5 Ws and H
History / Story Frame
Code the Text

Questioning activity
Children of the Dust Bowl vs. Out
of the Dust

Questioning activity
What is historical fiction?

Questioning activity
Out of the Dust
• “Fact - Fiction - Not Sure” graphic
organizer

Questioning activity
Children of the Dust Bowl
• Create questions from “Not Sure” list
• Research using non-fiction to find
answers
• Create a page of larger class book

My Brother Sam is Dead vs.
Give Me Liberty

NCSS Notable books
Cornell Notes
Bibme.org

Whatcha’ thinking?

After reading / strategies

Synthesizing

Synthesizing
Fence Sitter activity

Synthesizing
Fence Sitter activity
Creating captions

Synthesizing
Fence Sitter activity
Creating captions
Google Earth tour

Synthesizing
Fence Sitter activity
Creating captions
Google Earth tour
Digital Storytelling (Photostory 3,
Garageband, Comic Life)

Summarizing

Summarizing
Summarizing Pyramid

Summarizing
Summarizing Pyramid
Quick Draw for Points

Summarizing
Summarizing Pyramid
Quick Draw for Points
Read, Remember, Cover, Retell

Summarizing
Summarizing Pyramid
Quick Draw for Points
Read, Remember, Cover, Retell
Writing in Social Studies

“Bleeding”
edge?

docs.google.com
delicious.com
blogger.com
pbwiki.com

Simulations & video games

iPod Touch

World F armer
Third

Trave ler IQ

Whatcha’ thinking?

“Our task is not to provide an education
for the kind of kids we used to have, or
want to have, or the kind that exists in
our dreams.

Our task is to provide an education for
the kind of kids we do have.”
Mary Kay Utecht

have more questions?
contact:
Glenn Wiebe
glennw@essdack.org
socialstudiescentral.com
historytech.wordpress.com
View presentations at:
slideshare.net/glennw98