COVERING NEW GROUND
Helping teachers understand the ELA Standards
An Online Resource for Understanding the 6-12 ELA Common Core Standards for Science, Social Studies, and Technical Subjects.
6-12 ELA Standards for Social Studies
RH.1 - Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.
A challenge that students have is to be genuine with their work while acknowledging the creative ideas of others. A strong emphasis in the CCSS is to require students to cite their sources. Schools might want to develop common citing notation structures so that students are exposed to the same rules and procedures in all classes.
11-12 - Make certain the students are questioning the author’s conclusions. Where did the develop the idea? What influenced them as a research and writer. Specifically note when an author of text notes “gaps and inconsistencies” in their own writing when compared to research or others’ thoughts.
Graphic Organizers / Tools:
Lesson Plans:
SS 6-8: Weeping Camel; How do Rituals Compare?
SS 9-12: Silent Tea Party: Pre-Reading for Challenging Texts
RH.2 - Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.
“What is the most important idea you’re taking away from your reading?” Students can often have difficulty in establishing the main idea of a paragraph. As an instructor with literacy, making certain that “the main thing is the main thing” is a critical skill to encourage with students. Do they have the ability to synthesize what is read into ONE coherent thought? Does an individual student’s summary compare accurately with other’s? And ultimately - does the student know the difference between their OPINION of what is important about the text compared to what is really the central idea. A critical idea and challenge for Social Studies teachers is to be certain to include more than one perspective of historical events. Be on the search for articles and texts that present "the other side". Allow students to interact with these ideas; test the theories, dispute the author, consider what could have been done differently, and openly debate.
11-12 - Can students create a summary of text while using their own words instead of restating what the author has already said? It takes practice!
Graphic Organizers / Tools:
Lesson Plans:
SS 6-8: Historical Detective Work
SS 9-12: United States Entry into World War I: A Documentary Chronology of World War I
RH.3 - Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.
History is centered around timing. Can students realize the importance of a series of events? Can they determine for themselves the critical key events in history? The use of graphic organizers can significantly aid in this work. Encourage differences of opinions. Allow students to create manipulatives, such as flash cards, that will allow them to interact with their ideas.
Graphic Organizers / Tools:
Lesson Plans:
SS 6-8: Myth and Truth: The "First Thanksgiving"
RH.4 - Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.
Developing vocabulary is one of the best opportunities students have to develop their literacy skills in classrooms outside of Language Arts, etc. The standard, however, refers to the ability to figure our the meaning of unknown words, phrases and/or symbols once students encounter them in their reading. Teachers should encourage the development of subject-related vocabulary with research-based techniques (not just the “go look it up” strategy). Teachers should also teach students techniques for learning unknown words etc. on their own.
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Lesson Plans:
SS 6-8: The Prices are Changing
RH.5 - Analyze how a text uses structure to emphasize key points or advance an explanation or analysis.
Think of a recent article you encouraged students to read as a part of your curriculum. If the author had switched around the paragraphs... would it have still made sense? would it have developed a different meaning? Or did the author use any techniques when writing to enhance the meaning such as a surprise conclusion? or a categorization of the information? Students should realize that in scientific and technical literature, the STRUCTURE that an author gives to the writing helps to develop the meaning. If students can detect what structure is being used, they will be able to understand what the author is trying to share with them.
Questions to ask while reading:
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Did the author organize this writing in any particular way that you can detect?
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How did the author organize the information he or she was sharing with us?
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Would there have been a better way to organize the paragraphs in your opinion?
Graphic Organizers / Tools:
Lesson Plans:
SS 6-8: After the American Revolution: Free African Americans in the North
SS 9-12: Building Suburbia: Highways and Housing in Postwar America
RH.6 - Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.
Good ‘ole “author’s purpose”. The sentiment behind determining the “author’s purpose” is to understand what the author set out to do in writing the selection. Were they trying to entertain you? to sell you something? to convince you that their ideas are best? Students can often make the mistake of thinking that whatever they read is true and right. But if the author is trying to sell a product, the reader should be somewhat “on their guard”. The information presented in an advertisement should be regarded differently than that of an informational article. Teachers should encourage students to consider what the author was trying to accomplish when writing... even if they’re reading a textbook!
Questions to ask while reading:
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What do you think the author is trying to accomplish by writing this piece?
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Do you feel like you’re being sold something or is this writing trying to convince you in any way?
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How would the language change if the author was writing to convince you that this was the best technique?
Graphic Organizers / Tools:
Point of View Worksheets and Lessons
Lesson Plans:
SS 6-8: Understanding the Salem Witch Trials
SS 9-12: English & Black History: Role Playing "Roll of Thunder"
RH.7 - Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in print or digital text.
Have you ever read a technical article and thought, “This would be better with a graph!” Students should start to align what is read with the information presented by graphs, charts, etc. By the 11th and 12th grade years, students should be asked to form their opinions about whether or not multiple kinds of text / video / graphs, etc. all represent the same thought or idea. They should also be proficient and creating visual representations of information -- making certain to not lose the original ideas of the text.
Questions to ask while reading:
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Did seeing the information in the chart make it easier or more difficult to understand? Why or why not?
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Is there any information in this text that could be better understood through some kind of visual representation?
Graphic Organizers / Tools:
Lesson Plans:
SS 6-8: Hudson River: Land Rights and Conflict
SS 6-8: Migration: Why People Move
SS 9-12: Do You Always Own Your Own Private Property?
RH.8 - Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author's claims.
“Prove it!” This should be a student’s battle cry when reading informational text. In middle school, teachers emphasize that authors have OPINIONS and they write FACTS based on research. Students should begin to know the difference. In high school, however, the game changes. When students detect an author is sharing an opinion based on research, they should ask different questions such as, Where did the author get the research? Is the research from a reputable and qualified source? etc. So that by Junior and Senior year, the students can look at a hypothesis put forth by an author and begin to research how they came about their conclusions. The key question for these students is, “Based on your findings, would you disagree with the author’s hypothesis?” Now we’re talking!
Graphic Organizers / Tools:
Lesson Plans:
SS 6-8: Women Aviators in World War II: "Fly Girls"
SS 9-12: Reading Between the Lines
RH.9 - Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.
“Pull it Together” We’re asking students in these standards to gather information from more than one source and compare the information, etc. The overriding principal is to make sure students don’t accept information as fact simply by reading it from one source. They should seek out multiple sources and detect similarities and differences amongst the information. And if there is conflicting information... find the answer!!
Graphic Organizers / Tools:
Lesson Plans:
SS 6-8: Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project
SS 9-12: Evaluating Eyewitness Reports
RH.10 -By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 9-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
One of the biggest challenges for reading teachers is to make certain that students are reading material that is appropriate for their instructional ability as well as challenges them. Make certain you are consulting with other language arts teachers in your building to know what instructional grade level at which your students are reading. The instructional grade level is different than their age-grade level.
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