1. Writing from Sources Superintendent Day Conference May 2, 2013
12:00-3:00
Department of Social Studies
Conversation about writing- what do you currently do regarding writing? Why is it important? (general conversation)

2. PM Agenda
12:00 Rationale/Research behind MOD 7 Overview of Shift 5 Writing from Sources
12:30 Review of Historical Research Papers/Rubric. (Review 8-Historical Steps PPT Slides)
1:00 “Unpack” Writing in History Standards

3. Common Core Writing Foundations
Automaticity allows students to develop higher- level writing skills like planning, generating, revising, and the ability to synthesize information from multiple sources
If you have the foundations mastered, you don’t have to devote brain power to basics and can concentrate on the more advanced aspects of writing

4. Writing Strand 6-8th Texts types and purposes WHST 1 Argument
WHST 2 Expository
WHST 3 Narrative
Production and Distribution of Writing
WHST 4 Development, organization aligned to task, purpose
WHST 5 Planning, revising, editing
WHST 6 Technology to produce and publish
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
WHST 7 Short and sustained research projects
WHST 8 Multiple sources
WHST 9 Evidence
Range WHST 10 Write over time
The writing strand relies depends on an understanding of certain basic concepts such as how to form letters, that all sentences are formed by a subject and predicate, etc.
Expository- informative/explanatory
The Writing Strand is organized into genres of writing, production or writing, and research skills
Range is the last standard (how often and in how many genres a student writes)
(Developing higher level writing skills) (all students will have the concept of writing but may not be fluent writers- fluency might hold a student back- scaffold with additional opportunities to write, type etc.)

5. Research Base
Survey of post-secondary educators found that among the most important skills expected of incoming students were
articulating a clear thesis;
identifying, evaluating, and using evidence to support or challenge the thesis;
Considering, incorporating counterarguments into writing.
The ICASCCC, California State University,
the University of California
Surveys of college professors show that W.CCR.1 is extremely relevant to college level work

6. Research skills (Short Versions)
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
WHST. 7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question drawing on several sources.
WHST. 8. Gather information from multiple print and digital sources
WHST.9. Draw evidence from informational texts.
There is also a strong emphasis on research skills in the CCLS.

7. Research genre for Social studies
Expository
Argument
Research
Research writing can take either form – expository (reports) and argument (thesis)- you’re not limited to one or the other- multiple sources- can be just a synopsis of the topic or prove a point in an argument

8. Help students analyze sources
Talk to students about their sources:
How does the information in this source align with or contradict other sources?
What argument does this source make?
How does this source support that argument?
Where is this source most/least convincing?
What is the author’s perspective on this topic?
Working with Students Writing from Sources, Elizabeth Kleinfeld

9. Building Knowledge in the Disciplines
Shared Responsibilities (Shift 2- Cross Content Areas)
Research writing
Argument/Expository writing
Writing process
Academic vocabulary
Development, organization, style
Use of technology
Use of multiple sources, assessment of credibility, integration of information
Standards are almost identical- consistency among departments- what method will the school use? Who is responsible for which parts? (ELA has grammar responsibility- Language- and narrative strand)

10. Shift 5: Writing from Sources
Use evidence to inform or make an argument
De-emphasize personal narratives and other forms of decontextualized prompts (not eliminated, though)
Develop skills through written arguments that respond to the ideas, events, facts, and arguments presented in text
Write from multiple sources about one topic
Analyze, synthesize ideas across many texts to draw an opinion or conclusion
Decontextualized, lacking a source or evidence.

11. Communicative Purposes 2011
Shifting emphasis
Distribution NAEP
Communicative Purposes 2011
Grade To
Persuade
Explain
To Convey
Experience 4
30%
35% 8 12
40%
20%
The first three writing standards deal with texts types and purposes. On the NAEP (National assessment of Educational Progress) assessment, a continuing emphasis is placed on persuasion/argument and explanatory writing as students get older. The CCLS standards follow this alignment, though the CCLS distinguish between persuasion and argument. The CCLS downplay the role of narrative writing as students get older.

12. Shift 5: Writing from Sources
EXAMPLE
NON-EXAMPLE
Read about the history of the Industrial Revolution
Respond to prompt: Identify the three most important reasons for industrial growth during the 19th and 20th centuries and explain reasons for these choices (Langer and Applebee, 1987)
Respond to prompt: Should students be allowed to bring cell phones to class? Choose a side in the debate and explain your reasoning.
(There is nothing wrong the with the prompt, but it does not cause students to interact with text- persuasive essay)
The first prompt requires the student to produce evidence from the text to answer the question
The second prompt does not require the student to reference a particular text at all
Does not mean you would stop assigning persuasive essays but you would do it less often

13. When will students write from sources? Historical Research papers
Writing from sources
When will students write from sources?
Historical Research papers
Informational/Expository essays
Arguments
DBQs
Summaries multiple sources
Constructed responses

14. Research base Why write about sources?
“… provides students with a tool for visibly and permanently recording, connecting, analyzing, personalizing, and manipulating key ideas in text.” (Graham and Hebert, 2010)
“Newer and better understandings of textual material are likely to occur when students write about text in extended ways involving analysis, interpretation, or personalization (Langer and Applebee, 1987).”
Writing forces you to organize the information which helps to internalize the information

15. Research Base: Writing to Read
Evidence for How Writing Can Improve Reading Major Findings of meta-analysis:
Writing about a text they read enhances how well students comprehend it.
Teaching writing improves student writing and enhances students’ ability to read a text accurately, fluently, and with comprehension.
Graham and Hebert, Carnegie Corporation/
Alliance for Excellent Education
What is a meta-analysis?
A report summarizing research studies that meet an established standard
Analyzes the effect size of the studies
Used to determine the promise, consistency, strength of an instructional practice

16. Writing to Read
In studies, writing about a text proved to be better than:
just reading it
reading and rereading it
reading and studying it
reading and discussing it
receiving reading instruction
Writing about it had more of an impact than discussing- doesn’t mean to eliminate the discussion
Strategy- Stop and Write– while reading, for example in a first read, they write so that they’re prepared to discuss- also helps students to internalize the information

17. Writing to Read Meta-analysis – 93% positive outcome
Evident in science, social studies as well as ELA
Writing about sources was also an effective activity for lower-achieving students
Did not have same effect when lower- achieving students were not taught explicitly how to write about sources- students had to be taught a method

18. (Note- patch working is not paraphrasing)
Key understandings
There are certain key understandings that enable students to conduct research. Some of these are note- taking, summarizing, paraphrasing, citing, and using quotations.
(Note- patch working is not paraphrasing)
Patch working- using synonyms to replace a few words

19. Discussion- Apply this to Historical research
What skills should be taught in writing a historical research paper? – In a small group, create a list of the steps you currently use in teaching the research paper…
Step 1: Read the sample Historical Research Paper.
Step 2: Discuss with team, What aspects make a successful paper?
Step 3: List aspects.
Step 4: Review National History Day Rubric
Step 5: Add additional aspects
Step 6: Share out
How to narrow a topic (How do events and institutions create war- students have to pick topic), identifying valid sources (criteria), bibliography and annotated bibliography, primary vs. secondary sources, paraphrasing, summarizing, parenthetical citation, when you should use a source/citation, quotations, note taking, outlining, thesis, determining counterclaims, format (MLA), writing process, etc.
How do you scaffold this??

20. NHD 8-Step Process of Historical Research
Getting Organized for Research
Selecting a Topic
Background Reading for Historical Context
Narrowing Your Topic
Gathering and Recording Information
Analyzing and Interpreting Sources
Developing a Thesis Statement
Developing a Finished Project

21. Unit plan creation
Each group will receive a different step of the process to create lesson plan units to introduce the process and skills used to create successful historical research papers, these lessons will be used to teach the process next year.
Review assigned Historical Research process step.
Discuss and brainstorm ideas lessons. (Focus on introduction and skill sets)
Create 2-3 unit lessons for implementation.
Link to the CCLS Writing/Literacy.
Submit at closing.