I have the privilege of teaching college students from multiple content areas who are training to be middle and high school teachers. In one of my classes, we focus on how using reading, writing, and conversation in the classroom provides students multiple interaction points with content. We also talk about how all content areas share responsibility for teaching and reinforcing these skills.
For teachers who are not ELA instructors, the idea of integrating writing into their content area may be intimidating, especially if they lack confidence in creating relevant and interesting writing assignments. Typical go-to assignments like reaction papers and research papers are stale and unexciting, but knowing where to find alternative ideas can be difficult. With this in mind, I offer the following advice to jump-start content area writing in secondary classrooms.
Allow students to talk as they write.
Writing can be a lonely and frustrating activity, especially if students get stuck. When we write in my classes, we always write in small groups so that students can share their ideas with one another. Writing in small groups also allows me the flexibility to group students in the way that makes the best sense for the class. Sometimes, I will group students of a like content area together if the assignment requires more specific content knowledge. Other times, I will group students by different content areas if the assignment calls for multiple perspectives. When students are in groups, I can circulate to each team and engage in their conversation. It is an effective way for me to quickly assess who is struggling and may need additional assistance.
Don't worry (too much) about conventions.
Initially, I encourage students to focus on developing content and ideas as opposed to spelling, punctuation, and other conventions. When preparing to submit work for grading, students will need to make sure the work is polished and professional, but the focus in the initial brainstorming should be on getting ideas on paper and talking with one another to improve ideas.
When crafting writing assignments, consider how students can use content in a meaningful and interesting way.
One approach is to consider the kinds of writing required for a career in a certain content area—for example, lab reports (for science classes), fitness journals (for physical education classes), and political speeches (for social sciences classes).
Across content areas, students can use writing to advocate for some issue related to their area of study. In my class we do this through our "Email to Congress" writing assignment. This assignment is completed using www.govtrack.us, a site that houses information about current legislation in the United States Congress. Students begin by selecting an interest area (from a wide variety of topics that have cross-content appeal) and then find information about their representative or senator. In their email, students summarize the issue, explain their position, and request a specific course of action from the legislator.
Other cross-curricular assignment ideas combine creativity and content:
- Unsent Letters: Students identify a famous person relevant in the respective content area (living or dead). Students conduct brief research to identify at least five pieces of important information about the person (history, accomplishments, contributions to the field, etc.) Then, students write a letter to this person using the information found in the research. In past semesters, my students have written letters to people like Marie Curie, Warren Buffett, and Jesse Owens.
- Storytelling: Students select a person, place, or object (relevant to the content area) to serve as the subject of the story. They then conduct brief research to identify at least five pieces of information to include in the story. They also select three additional people, places, or objects to be additional characters in the story. The story should have a simple structure, including a brief description of the opening scene, a conflict that leads to a need to act, a description of how the conflict is rectified, and a summary of the subject's life after the conflict is resolved.This option is a great way for students to illustrate a process or relationship. I have seen some very creative short stories from my students. One of my business education majors wrote a story from the perspective of a canceled check. A science education major wrote a story about a flu virus's assault on an immune system. An English education major wrote about the complicated relationship between a colon and a semicolon.
Because writing is a form of thinking, I will always champion it as an excellent way to encourage students to dig deeper into content and to use it in a creative way. Making writing meaningful and social also makes it interesting and fun. Interesting and fun assignments are assignments that students want to write and teachers will enjoy reading.
