Creative Writing in Social Studies Classroom part 2

In my first creative writing post I offered steps of how to teach your students to write a five paragraph essay using a free writing prompt.  Now, I'll provide another example of how implementing writing in non-essay form.

My Essential Question: Why do people choose to live in civilizations?

Essential Understanding: Civilization shapes and transforms society and peoples' lives.

Objective. Students will be able to explain the significance of the Neolithic Revolution and how it has impacted our lives today.

Students will be able to compare and contrast the Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages by synthesizing information in a brochure.  Students must receive an 80% or higher on the brochure rubric in order to master the objective.


Step One: Introduce your students to the content with a short video and have your students write a graphic organizer about the content.  Do not introduce the writing project as you are solely focusing on DOK 1 knowledge.  You want your students to identify key vocabulary and concepts.

Have your students read the textbook and answer guided questions about the text using again a graphic organizer.

 

 

Step 2: The next day introduce the writing project to the students by having them complete a bell-ringer by analyzing diagrams and pictures in the textbook.

 

 

Step 3: Have students read your objective, essential question, enduring understandings, and key words on the board.

 

Step 4: Have students read the instruction of the activity.

 

 Step 5: Randomly choose students (draw sticks) into pairs of partners to work on the prewriting together using the images, text, and graphics of the textbook to find answers to each client question.  Or place your high achieving students with the lower achieving students to help the lower students.

Step 6: Review your partner work procedures

 

 

Step 7: Have pairs work on answering the questions found on the prewrite.

 

 

Day 2

 

 

Step 1: Have pairs finish answering questions found on prewrite.

 

Step 2: Have students begin working on rough draft using the template provided.

 



 

 

Step  3: Have students peer edit each other's brochures using the rubric.

 

Day 3

 

Step 1: Have students make their brochures using colored paper, colored makers, and colored pencils.

 

Step 2: Have students turn in brochure for homework tomorrow (whatever they did not finish in class).

 

Step 3: Students present their brochures while doing their best impression of a real estate agent trying to sell me a house.

 

If you need these materials, then check this link. https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B7TluIw2uWYFdGhwNEdIcmlPQWs&usp=sharing