Writing Across
Common Core
Standards
STRATEGIC PLAN
Bradley County Schools
Secondary In-Service
August 3, 2012
Today’s agenda
1. The Context in Tennessee; our Purpose
and Goals
2. Shifts in writing expectations
3. Provide discipline specific strategies for
instruction
4. Resources
2
Implementation of Common Core State
Standards complements other work underway
Student Readiness for
Postsecondary Education
and the Workforce
(WHY we teach)
Common Core State
Standards provide a
vision of excellence
for WHAT we teach
TEAM provides a
vision of excellence
for HOW we teach
3
Text Demands of Postsecondary Education
“Most of the required reading in college and
workforce training programs is informational
in structure and challenging in content;
postsecondary education programs typically
provide students with both a higher volume
of such reading than is generally required in
K–12 schools and comparatively little
scaffolding.”
(Common Core State Standards 2010a, 4)
#8 & 9
Range and Content of Student Writing
Through writing, students…
assert and defend claims
take task, purpose, and audience into
careful consideration
use technology strategically
report findings in research and analysis
by gathering information, evaluating
sources, and citing material accurately
produce quality work under time
constraints
produce multiple drafts through a
revision process
produce numerous pieces over short
and long periods of time
Superior Opportunity
Sufficient
Opportunity
Lacking
Opportunity
Varieties of Writing in Content Areas
Scientific lab
report
Void of personal
opinion (based on
truth)
Sequence is
extremely important.
Discipline-specific
vocabulary is
essential to
communication.
Essay or Poem
Social Science
for English Class Essay
Personal opinion or
experiences and
logical reasoning
Language may
include descriptive
imagery.
Often references
one literary text
Distanced stance
Evidence included
to support claim
Logical reasoning to
tie evidence to claim
Often references
multiple texts as
evidence
Writing Like a Historian
How would you
approach teaching
students to write like a
historian?
Implementing the Reading Standards
Instructional Scenario:
While teaching a lesson about the Stamp Act in Grade
9, you provide students with three texts: an article from
the Boston-Gazette, an article from a London
newspaper, and a letter from a frustrated colonist.
Given these documents, you
ask students to answer the
question:
Was the Stamp Act an
unreasonable and unfair tax?
4
Discipline-Specific Strategies for
Instruction
What discipline-specific strategies
will support implementation of the
Literacy Standards in History/Social
Studies?
Common Core Writing Standards for
Literacy in History/Social Studies,
Science, and Technical Subjects 6-12
www.corestandards.org
10
How are the Writing Standards
organized?
College and Career Anchor Standards are
broad standards that outline what students
need to have in place to be college and career
ready.
Each corresponding grade span standard
falls under one of 4 categories:
 Text types and purposes
 Production and distribution of writing
 Research to build and present knowledge
 Range of writing
11
11
12
Text Types and Purposes for Writing in
History
 The last section of the Common Core Standards
is explicitly written for 6-12 teachers in content
areas other than ELA.
 The Common Core Standards outline 2 types of
writing in Science, History and Technical
Subjects:
a) Writing arguments focused on science content
b) Writing informative/explanatory texts.
The Role of Opinion/Argument
“While all three text types are important, the
Standards put a particular emphasis on
students’ ability to write sound arguments on
substantive topics and issues, as this ability is
critical to college and career readiness.”
(Common Core State Standards Initiative 2010b, 24)
Foundations of Argument Writing
Before students can write sound arguments on
substantive topics and issues, we must teach
them to…
Introduce and state opinions
Support opinions with reasons
Use words, phrases, or clauses to
link opinion and reason
Provide a concluding statement or
section
Progression of Argument Writing Skills
Look at p.64 to identify the
progression of the new
argument writing skills and
those addressed in the grade
band you teach.
Supporting Opinion/Argument
Students who are college and career ready:
“Use relevant evidence when supporting their own
points in writing and speaking, making their reason
clear to the reader or listener, and they constructively
evaluate others’ use of evidence.”
(Common Core State Standards Initiative 2010a, 7)
Elements of Argument
Claim: the position or assertion that supports an
argument
Evidence: the facts or reasons that support the claim
Warrant: the chain of reasoning that connects the
evidence to the claim
Counterclaim: an opposing position or assertion
Rebuttal: logical reasons for rejecting the counterclaim
Creating an Argument
Topic: Should people be encouraged to commute by bicycle,
rather than by car?
Claim: People should be encouraged to commute by bicycle,
rather than by car.
Evidence: Maintaining a bicycle is significantly less expensive
than maintaining a car.
Warrant: Spending less money on commuting expenses is a
good thing in this tough economy.
Counterclaim: Some may say that riding a bicycle
to work would increase commuting time and
therefore decrease productivity and money
earned.
Rebuttal: However, bicycles can navigate
rush-hour congestion more efficiently
than cars.
#9
Exploring the World of Ancient
Civilizations
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What is informational/explanatory writing?
Informational/Explanatory writing conveys information
accurately. This kind of writing serves one or more closely
related purposes:
to increase readers’ knowledge of a subject
to help readers better understand a procedure
or process
to provide readers with an enhanced comprehension
of a concept
(Common Core State Standards Initiative 2010b, 23)
Key Ideas of Informational/
Explanatory Writing
Students are writing from expertise (what they
already know).
Students also draw from primary and
secondary sources on the topic.
Strategies for organizing and developing ideas
vary by grade level.
Informational/Explanatory Writing
in Your Classroom
What kinds of informational/explanatory writing
do students do in your classroom?
Constructed Response (WHST.9-10.2)
• Explain how civil disobedience was used
in the struggle for India’s independence.
Sample Task
• Students compare George Washington’s
Farewell Address to other foreign policy
statements, such as the Monroe Doctrine,
and analyze how both texts address
similar themes and concepts regarding
“entangling alliances.” (RI. 9 – 10.9)
Examining Student Work
(Common Core State Standards Initiative 2010d, 64)
Incorporating Research and Writing into
History and Social Studies Curriculum
CCR 7: Conduct short as well as more
sustained research projects based on focused
questions, demonstrating understanding of
the subject under investigation.
CCR 8: Gather relevant information from
multiple print and digital sources, assess the
credibility and accuracy of each source, and
integrate the information while avoiding
plagiarism.
CCR 9: Draw evidence from literary or
informational texts to support analysis,
reflection, and research.
(Common Core State Standards Initiative 2010a, 18)
Research Writing Strategy: RAFT
Role
Audience
Format
Topic
Martin Luther
King Jr.
Modern
television
audience
Speech
Revisiting his dream
Joseph Stalin
The Soviet
people
Propaganda
pamphlet
What makes the perfect
Soviet citizen?
Rosa Parks
Her Facebook
Facebook wall
friends (writer to
messages
determine)
Her side of the story about
the boycott
Great Wall of
China
Self
An account of Manchu
invaders approaching
Diary entry
(Billmeyer and Barton 1998)
Sample Performance Task
• Essay Prompt: In the last paragraph of the
“Gettysburg Address,” Lincoln shifts the focus of his
speech away from what he says is its purpose at the
end of the second paragraph. What reasons does he
give for the shift in focus? What does Lincoln think
is the task left to those listening to his speech? Use
evidence from the text to support your analysis.
Formulate an answer to these questions in a
thoughtful brief essay.
History/Social Studies Instructional Scenario
Classroom 1
Students are watching an excerpt from Ken Burns’s Civil
War series to better understand a particular event.
Classroom 2
Students are reading a section of the textbook and
working with a partner to answer comprehension
questions.
Classroom 3
Students are working with a variety of primary and
secondary documents that represent various viewpoints
on a similar topic. Students are then answering questions
about the cause and effect of an event, using the
documents as evidence.
Classroom 4
Students are taking notes on a particular event from
history using a graphic organizer to help organize the
information.
Reflection
What is one concept or idea that you want to
immediately incorporate into your instruction?
What is one concept or idea that you want to
incorporate into your instruction in the next year?
If your instruction guided your students to read
and write like historians, how would it change
student achievement?
Reflection
# 22
References
Baer, Justin, Stéphane Baldi, Kaylin Ayotte, and Patricia J. Green. 2007. The Reading Literacy of U.S. Fourth-Grade Students in
an International Context: Results From the 2001and 2006 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS).
Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences U.S. Department of Education.
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2008/2008017.pdf.
Billmeyer, Rachel, and Mary Lee Barton. 1998. Teaching Reading in the Content Areas: If Not Me, Then Who? 2nd ed. Denver,
CO: McREL.
Bransford, John, National Research Council (U.S.) Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning, and National
Research Counsil (U.S.) Committee on Learning Research and Educational Practice. 2000. How People Learn: Brain, Mind,
Experience, and School. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Common Core State Standards Initiative. 2010a. “Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in
History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects.” Accessed January 1, 2011. http://www.corestandards.org/thestandards.
———. 2010b. “Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and
Technical Subjects: Appendix A: Research Supporting Key Elements of the Standards and Glossary of Key Terms.”
Accessed January 1, 2011. http://www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_A.pdf.
———. 2010c. “Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and
Technical Subjects: Appendix B: Text Exemplars and Sample Performance Tasks.” Accessed January 1, 2011.
http://www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_B.pdf.
———. 2010d. “Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and
Technical Subjects: Appendix C: Samples of Student Writing.” Accessed January 1, 2011.
http://www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_C.pdf.
Strong American Schools. 2008. “Diploma to Nowhere.” Accessed December 22, 2010.
http://www.deltacostproject.org/resources/pdf/DiplomaToNowhere.pdf.
#5380