Writing in the Social Studies Classroom and Across the Curriculum by Philip J Sloan A Master s Project for ED 7999 In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Teaching June 2005 Major Social Studies Education Minor English Education Approved by Dr Bob Pettapiece Date 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter One Introduction Introduction 1 Situation 1 Need 2 Purpose 3 Significance 4 Chapter Two Literature Review Introduction 5 Theoretical Bases 5 Research 7 Suggested Approaches 8 Summary 10 Chapter Three Strategies Methods Introduction 11 Journal Writing 11 Blogs 15 Letter Writing 20 Creative Writing 24 Chapter Four Conclusion 29 References 30 Appendix A Appendix B 32 37 3 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Introduction The importance of written communication cannot be overstated Writing is an important tool for clarifying and organizing ideas It is a process one that can bring order to confusion give shape to intuition and provoke unexpected connections Through writing we can better plumb our desires manifest our memories consolidate knowledge and relate to a larger world Good writing skills are an integral part of being an effective communicator and essential to one s academic and career success Unfortunately secondary schools do not always stress the importance of writing and when they do it is limited to the English classroom The concept of writing across the curriculum has seen more discussion than actual implementation largely because subject area teachers are not sure how to teach writing in their respective classrooms Nowhere outside of the English classroom may writing be more necessary than in the social studies where interpretation synthesis and analysis are vital to the discipline This project will outline several methods of incorporating writing into the social studies classroom 4 The Situation Clear concise writing has become something of a rarity The problem of course stems from the current education system where the seeds of inadequate written communication are sown Writing is simply not taught as often or as well as it could be This is unfortunate since well developed writing assignments can truly benefit students Through the written word students can increase their breadth of understanding of course material The Need Writing is routinely undervalued or ignored completely by educators outside of the English classroom English teacher Historically the teaching of writing has been the exclusive domain of the Social studies teachers often scoff at the notion of doing what they perceive to be another teacher s job Unfortunately it is the students who pay the price for this attitude As long ago as 1986 The National Assessment of Educational Progress NAEP reported that barely one fifth of students wrote adequately Most students had trouble organizing their thoughts in writing and could not express themselves well enough to ensure that their writing would accomplish the intended purpose Applebee Langer and Mullis 1986 p 11 Today writing continues to be one of the areas in which secondary students are most deficient While standardized test scores have improved in some areas poor writing continues to be a glaring problem In 2002 the NAEP reported that only 24 31 percent of students performed at or above the proficient level In Michigan two subject areas writing and social studies were singled out and said to need special attention In these two disciplines less than half of Michigan students scored at or above state standards State board of Education 5 president Kathleen N Strauss emphasized the importance of addressing student issues with writing To be successful in this 21st century global economy our children must be aware of the world around them and be able to clearly communicate their thoughts and ideas Ackley 2004 p 2 But test scores do not tell the whole story Written assignments in the social studies classroom are uncommon and the few given typically require little more than short one sentence or even one word responses This encourages rote repetition not critical thinking Ironically the least amount of attention paid to writing has occurred at the level where it is most needed Frederick Risinger 1987 observed that the use of writing assignments declines dramatically at the high school level the years when acquisition and practice of higherorder thinking skills should receive the most attention p 3 The NAEP reported in 2002 that although student performance increased slightly for grades 4 and 8 no significant changes were noted in the performance of twelfth graders The test scores reflect the extent to which teachers underplay writing The need for implementing an across the curriculum approach to writing instruction is apparent and the secondary social studies classroom where writing is most often overlooked is the logical place to start The Purpose This project outlines several specific strategies for integrating writing and the social studies The strategies are designed to improve not only content area knowledge but also overall student performance in writing Their purpose however extends beyond simply raising the test scores Writing serves as an ideal diagnostic tool for the social studies teacher Written 6 assignments generally provide a more accurate assessment of student learning than conventional tests Students cannot write without knowledge in order to write one must have something to say Furthermore writing focuses thought encouraging and enhancing critical thinking Writing shifts the responsibility for learning away from the teacher and toward the pupil It imbues students with a sense of self worth allowing them to take ownership of their achievements in the classroom Through writing empowered students can find their own way to a deeper analysis Writing is an inherently integrative process demanding the full intellectual capacities of the writer It pushes a student not just to regurgitate ideas but to interpret them to connect events people and places Writing can lead to questions and often subsequent discovery of knowledge Significance Incorporating writing into the social studies classroom can help secondary social studies teachers expand their teaching methodology The social studies teacher who incorporates writing teaches students more than just a series of facts Writing encourages creativity and organization as it allows students to analyze and synthesize the information presented to them As such the suggested methods may be of paramount