Presentation for the California Council for the Social Studies 3-4-2016

1. Engaging English Learners & Reluctant Writers
California Council for the Social Studies 55th Annual Conference
Ruth Luevanos March 4, 2016 Scott M. Petri

2. 1. Twitter
2. Questioning
3. Timeline
Transitions
4. MEAL
5. RAFT
6. 1st Person
Research Papers
7. SRSD

3. Using Social Media as a Prewriting Strategy
The Twittercide of Socrates

4. Primary Source Reading

6. 6 Word Stories/Definitions
• Two definitions from the book and the following student
simplifications illustrate the idea of 6 word
definitions. Containment: The U.S. strategy of keeping
communism within its existing boundaries and preventing its
further expansion (p. 509).
Truman Doctrine: United States policy, established in 1947, of
trying to contain the spread of communism (p. 491).

7. 6 Word Stories/Definitions

8. 6 Word Stories/Definitions

9. Great Terror Tweetathon
• As a Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin made
his enemies pay
His secret police would kill 1,000
people every day
• The Russians launched mass arrests
and forced labor
At times it seemed by killing you,
Stalin was doing you a favor
• Between 1937 and 1938, the Great
Terror only lasted for two years
During this time, the Soviet people
lived with many fears
• The Great Terror eliminated people
considered an enemy of the state
A history book would conclude that
this time period was not great.

10. Zaption

11. Zaption
• 40 Tours given to students this year.
• Approx. 15 min ea. w/5-6 questions in ea.

12. Zaption

13. Getting Students to Write Questions

14. Student Questions
• I would like to know why Jews didn’t fight back or resist because it
seem as if the Germans just killed the Jews with ease.
• What I want to know is who put a stop to all Hitler’s terror and how
did people just let him do that?
• What I would like to know is where did Hitler get all his ideas about
a master race?
• I would like to know how Hitler convinced Germans to let this
happen and why the US didn’t intervene earlier?
• I would like to know more in depth stories of some of the Jews who
survived the Holocaust.
• I would like to learn about conspiracy theories and the psychology
of why Hitler wanted to kill these people. Was it a mental illness, or
was he simply racist?

15. Timeline Transitions
• while
• immediately
• after
• later
• always
• when
• soon
• whenever
• meanwhile
• sometimes
• in the
meantime
• during
• afterwards
• next
• following
• once
• then
• at length
• so far
• this time
Use
Timelines
To Teach
Students
Transitions

16. MEAL Paragraphs
• M – Main Idea: Thesis/Topic Sentence
• E – Evidence: Proof found in primary
source/book/research
• A – Analysis: How the evidence proves
the main idea (explanation/rationale)
• L – Link: How a paragraph fits in to what
the paper is trying to prove.

17. MEAL
PROMPT:
Was
Operation
Overlord a
triumph of
planning or
a lucky
break?

18. MEAL or No MEAL?
Main Idea Evidence

19. MEAL
PROMPT:
Should
WWII island
hopping be
considered
a success or
failure?

20. MEAL Argument Paragraphs
Main Idea Evidence Analysis Link

22. RAFT Paragraphs
• Role of the writer – helps the writer decide on point
of view and voice.
• Audience for the piece of writing – reminds the
writer that he must communicate ideas to someone
else and helps the writer determine content and
style.
• Format of the material – helps the writer organize
ideas and employ the conventions of format, such as
letters, interviews, and story problems.
• Topic or subject of the piece of writing – helps the
writer focus on main ideas.

23. Sample RAFT Prompts
1. You are a 1950’s Police Officer warning a
white church group about the dangers of
Juvenile Delinquency.
2. You are a Native American WWII veteran
testifying before Congress. Describe how and
why the US Gov. should make life better for
Native Americans.

24. During my serving years as a police officer
there was a 45 percent rise in crime rates.
Why is that? It is due to the juvenile
delinquency. (Random white lady) That is
insane! Yes Ma’am, about 1 million young
people would get into some kind of
criminal trouble. You people should keep
an eye out for the young ones! Also watch
out for your cars! Car thefts have topped
the list of juvenile crimes. Also all you
people should be alarmed due to the
behavior of these young-uns who
belonged to gangs and committed
muggings, rape, and who knows even
murder. (All gasp). Parents listen up to
this. Some cultural critics have claimed
that young people were rebelling against
the hypocrisy and conformity of their
parents. Others blame it on the lack of
discipline. If you have young ones make
sure to keep control of them.

25. The war is over. I have fulfilled my duty.
The government says they want to launch
us into mainstream society. I believe the
plan is called the termination policy. The
word termination means an ending or
final point of something. Our population is
not going to end. We will not be
terminated. Shipping us to Minneapolis,
Minnesota will not make life any better
for us. The living conditions are miserable.
You know that when we come from
reservations we go to stay with family that
lives in just a two bedroom house with
five or six people living in it already, but
where else do we have to go. It has also
been said that we only have been know to
live for 37 years in Minneapolis.

27. First Person Research Papers
• Paper is written in the
first person.
• Uses the perspective of
a real or imagined
character recalling the
event in the past tense.
The character cannot be
a major player in the
event.

28. Choosing a Narrator
• D-Day
– an American soldier
– a commander
– a soldier on a U-boat
– a German soldier defending the position
• Hiroshima
– a Japanese citizen of Hiroshima
– a Japanese child
– a Japanese resident of a nearby community
– a crew member prepping the plane
– A crew member loading the bomb

29. German POV of Invasion of Normandy
• We made our way into the bomb shelter on level ground.
My entire battalion was down there. We were trapped. We
waited for hours while the bombs continued dropping.
Akaim managed to get a radio working; we received reports
that this was happening all along the Wall.
• It had to be about five in the morning before we noticed
the barrage had stopped. We were so relieved. About a half
an hour after we had resurfaced Rudolf gave a sudden
intake of breath. He handed me the binoculars and directed
me towards the horizon. I dropped the specs over the side
of the bunker out of shock.
• There were ships.

30. Self Regulated Strategy Development
• SRSD is used with English
Language Learners (ELLs)
and in teaching students
with writing deficits.
Dr. Steve Graham,
Arizona State U
Dr. Karen R. Harris,
Arizona State U

31. Steps in SRSD
1. Develop background knowledge
2. Discuss it
3. Model it
4. Memorize it
5. Support it
6. Independent Performance

32. Self-Regulation Methods
• Self-regulating writers
develop goal-setting
strategies, task-analyzing
objectives, and self-
reinforcement.

33. Creating Positive Attitudes Toward Writing
1. establishing an exciting
mood
2. encouraging students to
take risks
3. Using high interest
assignments
4. allowing students to select
topics
5. having students arrange
their own writing space
6. encouraging peer assistance

34. Use Writing to Improve Reading Comp
(Graham & Hebert, 2010)
Social Science researchers generally interpret effect sizes as:
(small = .20; medium = .50; and large = .80)

35. Contact:
scottmpetri@gmail.com
Twitter @scottmpetri
www.HistoryRewriter.com
Thank
You

36. Inspiring Reluctant Writers
Presented By:
Ruth Luevanos

37. • Participants will learn ways to scaffold
instruction to improve historical writing for
reluctant writers including English Language
Learners, Special Needs students and Gifted
students.
• Participants will learn ways to address needs
of reluctant writers with various modalities of
learning.
Objectives

38. • Word Banks
• Sentence Frames-Formulaic Writing
• Chunking Assignments
• Tableaus for kinesthetic learners
• Modeling
• Anchor Papers
• Graphic Organizers
Strategies

39. • Lack of access to vocabulary (ELL’s, Special Needs)
• Fear of spelling, grammar and punctuation
• Previous negative experiences with writing
(“bloody” corrections)
• Multiple step process of writing (Researching,
planning, drafting)
• No real relationship to writing
• Not related to testing
Why are students reluctant to write?

40. • Teacher created word bank
• Collaborative word bank
(with students)
• Create Wordle or Word
Cloud
• USC-CALIS Four Worlds as
Word Bank
• https://dornsife.usc.edu/calis/four-worlds-
of-history/
Word Banks=Ingredients

41. • Noun+ Subject = sentence
• Ability to differentiate and scaffold instruction
for ELL’s, Special Needs and GATE
Sentence Frames=Recipe

42. • Make sure to model use
of graphic organizers
• Help transition students
from graphic organizers
to actual writing
(Especially ELL and
Special Needs)
Graphic Organizers

43. Chunking Assignments
•ELL , Special Needs and GATE
student who are reluctant writers
often feel overwhelmed by
writing “an entire essay.”
•Chunking the assignment into
smaller portions helps scaffold
and support instruction for these
students.
•Students may require more time
for written assignments (IEP and
resource support).
•Checklist grading instead of
rubric.

44. • Effective for
kinesthetic/visual
learners
• Makes real connections
to writing
• Inspires more attention
to details
• Multiple perspectives
• Use students’ reflections
for Word Cloud as
springboard
Tableau’s to Increase Writing

45. • Ruth Luevanos
• Pacoima Middle School
• raluevanos@sbcglobal.net
Contact Information