1. Critical Thinking in Technical/Content Area Writing By Ms. Teref and Mr. Plum

2. Everybody thinks critically Anecdote from the library: NBA stats Is it possible the student was…... comparing different games? Teams? Players?...making predictions about future outcomes? Student response.

3. What’s the missing piece? Articulation, clarity in order to make connections between thoughts or ideas Verbal: to compensate, G1.5 students use body language, “you know what I mean,” “bogus,” “thingy”... In academic/technical (content area) writing: G1.5 students overuse “and then... and then” instead of linking thoughts clearly. Common teachers’ reaction: Mental compensation and “I know what they mean”

4. Example “Although the Eagles trailed throughout most of the game, they kept their composure and were able to rally and pull out a victory.” Identify: a) the content area. b) technical/academic language. c) what’s being compared/contrasted. d) the word that connects the two thoughts. b

5. Write a sentence Think about your content area and a unit you have been focusing on lately. Write a technical sentence about the unit using “although.” Please share your sentences and tell us a) what technical vocab you used b) what you were comparing/contrasting

6. Why are we talking about “although?” What do we express by using “although”? What are we essentially doing when composing an “although” sentence? What function does “although” perform in a sentence? Does it LINK two ideas or thoughts? --> LINKING WORD, CONJUNCTION

7. Common Conjunctions in Technical/Academic Language--> Critical Thinking Most combined English sentences fall into the following groups: 1) Comparison/contrast: but, although, however 2) Cause-effect: because, consequently, therefore 3) Addition: and, in addition, moreover 4)Condition: if, unless 5)Time: when, whenever, after, before WHAT’S EMPOWERING ABOUT THE ABOVE 5 CATEGORIES?

8. How do we help our students? It can be safely stated that... - all content areas use conjunctions - conjunctions are tools for making content area language clear (w/o content, these tools don’t work) - w/o conjunctions, content doesn’t make sense - identifying and practicing writing with conjunctions  correct use of conjunctions  critical thinking or analysis.

9. Suggested activity (1): Dr. Darnell’s “I do, you do” Dr. Darnell’s “I do, you do” a) When summarizing a chapter or unit, model a few sentences using “although” about your content area. b) Have students copy your sentences and write, in groups, a content-area sentence of their own. c) Let students share their sentences. d) Model another sentence. e) Have them write one sentence in groups.

10. Suggested activity (2) Students are answering a question about a chapter. They must begin their response with a sentence starter or stem you provide: e.g. Although cytoplasm may appear to have no form or structure, (students finish the sentence). e.g. Although the Revolution didn’t settle the slavery debate, (students finish the sentence). N.B. For students to be successful, this activity must be repeated.

11. Suggested activity (3): After students have been exposed to your classroom use of “although,” do the following bell-ringer: For the next 5 minutes, write as many sentences using “although” about a paragraph/passage/chapter/unit/. The more correct sentences students write, the higher the number of points awarded.

12. Suggested activity (4) The class is reading a paragraph from a textbook, newspaper, novel, short story... Have students find and circle “although” (or any other linking word). Ask them what specifically is being compared/contrasted in the sentence.

13. Suggested activity (5) By now, your students have been exposed numerous times to “although” or another linking word. Students are writing a paragraph or an essay in response to a question or a topic. As part of your grading rubric, students must use “although” and indicate so in the margin of their paragraph.

14. Suggested Activity (6) “How do I begin my paragraph/essay?” “How do I begin my paragraph/essay?” Students are preparing to write a paragraph or an essay in response to a topic/question. Students are preparing to write a paragraph or an essay in response to a topic/question. They must write a thesis statement or a topic sentence beginning with “although.” They must write a thesis statement or a topic sentence beginning with “although.”