there is a real need - and desire - to search for more ways > to integrate and collaborate in grades 9-12 (yay upper school teachers!). > > As a teacher of both language arts AND social studies (sometimes together, as a "humanities" class) , one technique I have used as a way to connect the content of history with the skills of writing, is a R.A.F.T. --- R=Role; A=audience; F= format; T= topic --- for example... Role: you are a settler in the New World, Audience: you are writing to your family left back in the crowded cities of Europe; Format - you are writing a "friendly letter" to them; Topic: you are alleviating their fears about coming to the colonies by letting them know about your journey, the history of your colony, and what life is like for you.... I have gotten some great writing and evidence of thinking from this particular RAFT -- there are SOOO many more examples, and having kids come up with their own RAFT can also be a fun way to synthesize knowledge!!
Barb Lazar Cleveland Middle School Albuquerque, NM _______________________________________________ The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive
