the Unit 1: Civics and Citizenship Lessons (pdf) - The Ronald ...

AppendixAppendixStrategies for Vocabulary Development3) Gives equal voice to reluctant speakers: In any classroom in the country, a handful of students who, for whateverreason, are reluctant to participate in classroom discussion exist. On a blog, these quiet students can sharetheir thoughts and reactions to sources and events, and everyone in class has a chance to read them. Find anopportunity to share the thoughts of these sorts of students, and show all students the power that the writtenword can have in affecting others. This helps inspire both the confidence and the communication skills that arenecessary for effective civic participation.Public WritingIf we compare Writing to Learn to basketball practice, then public writing would be the actual game time. The stakesare higher, the length is substantial, and because the writing has gone through several drafts, has been edited andformatted, and planned out in advance, it is now ready for assessment. In a basketball game, the final assessment isthe score board. In public writing, it is the grade or rubric score. Remember, for public writing, students should gothrough the entire process of writing: pre-writing, drafting, revising, and editing before presenting for publication.Examples of public writing include:PSA Unit TaskIn this unit, the culminating task of a PSA is the result of public writing. There are several drafts, the finalproduct will be assessed by both students and the teacher, and it is a substantial piece of work representingweeks of research and development.FactionContent-Area Writing describes faction as “the marriage of factual research and imagination.” Examples offaction include Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, Alex Haley’s Roots, and countless works of historical or sciencefiction. This example of public writing can be used as a unit assessment and allows students to investigateresources beyond the material explored in class. For example, a student might write a series of interviews withthe authors of the primary sources in this unit.Web Page or Facebook PageStudents research either a person or an event, and create a web page or Facebook page that exhibits a strongunderstanding of the person or the event as revealed through primary and secondary sources. Be sure to setclear expectations for students on the intended goal, and encourage them to keep their focus on the content andresearch rather than all the special effects or features they can add to a web page.Suggested Resources for further reading:1) Daniels, Harvey, Steven Zemelman, and Nancy Steineke. Content-Area Writing: Every Teacher’s Guide.Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2007. Print.2) Gallagher, Kelly. Teaching Adolescent Writers. Portland, Me: Stenhouse, 2006. Print.3) Graham, Steve, and Dolores Perin, “Writing Next: Effective Strategies to Improve Writing of Adolescents inMiddle and High Schools- A Report to the Carnegie Corporation of New York.” Washington, DC: Alliance forExcellent Education, 2007. Print.OverviewCamille Blachowicz and Peter Fisher, in an article entitled “Vocabulary Lessons,” write, “Developing a strong vocabularynot only promotes reading comprehension but also enables us to actively participate in our society.” This is especiallytrue when it comes to teaching students about ways to become an actively engaged citizen. Texts written in the18th Century by Thomas Jefferson or James Madison are difficult for many readers because of both their elevatedvocabulary and their highly stylized syntax. Students ranging from gifted to language learners will struggle tocomprehend these primary sources. Though we have included a glossary of key terms with each lesson in the unit, it ishighly probable that students will encounter words that are confusing or unfamiliar throughout the unit. Following areseveral strategies for helping students to develop a strong vocabulary that will assist them both in learning about andbecoming active and engaged citizens.Strategies for Learning VocabularySTARThis technique is described by Blachowicz and Fisher in “Vocabulary Lessons.”• Select: Read through a selection of text and select 4-6 words a student would need to summarize the text. Forexample, you might select the word “diplomacy” from Condoleezza Rice’s opening statement for her Senateconfirmation hearing. Also, select 4-6 words that aren’t essential to summarizing the piece, but would be highfrequency words the students would be likely to encounter in other reading, such as “aspirations.” For giftedlearners, give students the option of selecting their own vocabulary words.• Teach: Once students have a list of new words, they need to be taught the meaning. Students can look upthe word, use the context of the sentence, use the internet to explore other sentences in which the word hasbeen used (for example, if a student really likes sports, have him/her use the search function on ESPN.com orsportsillustrated.cnn.com to find stories that use that word.) Students can also learn about the word by using athesaurus to look up synonyms.• Activate: Use classroom discussion and activity to allow students an opportunity to see, hear, and write the newwords. Provide an array of activities and learning strategies to forge as many connections as you can betweenthe new words and the brains of the students. Singing, acting, pantomiming, incorporating the words intoart projects, or having discussions where students must utilize the new words are a multitude of ways to helpstudents activate these new words.• Revisit: Once students have learned the new words, find ways to continually integrate them into the classroom.Games, writing activities, classroom discussion, or word walls are all ways to help students revisit the new wordsthey’ve learned.Personal DictionaryA strategy that uses all four parts of the STAR strategy is having students create and keep a personal dictionary. Asstudents encounter new and unfamiliar words in their reading, they write the word down in their dictionary (you canhave them arrange them alphabetically or by source). Students are then responsible for learning the word throughwhatever method works best for them. They should write a definition in their own words, write an original sentencethat shows their comprehension, compile a list of synonyms for the word, and draw an image that represents the word.You will find a blank personal dictionary sheet directly following this selection.148149