CITING EVIDENCE FROM A TEXT
DEVELOPING READING AND WRITING PROFICIENCIES IN SOCIAL STUDIES
GRADE 7
Student Goal: Students will write an informative essay explaining how countries that have totalitarian governments share similar qualities. UNIT OVERVIEW This unit implements the following standards RL 7.1, RI 7.1, RL 7.10, RI 7.10, W 7.2, W 7.9, SL 7.2, L 7.6. Each standard builds off the idea that in order to develop an idea, textually specific citation needs to be evident throughout the reading and writing process. Proficient readers are able to read multiple types of fiction and nonfiction text, identify the main idea of the selection, and determine what text evidence best supports their ideas. Citation is an important skill because it enhances informative writing, close reading, and impactful discussion. Throughout the unit, the students will use the prior knowledge they already have and apply it to three culturally diverse countries that share a totalitarian government structure: Germany in the 1930s, the Soviet Union under Stalin’s rule, and modern day communist China. By analyzing the characteristics of each society, the students will be able to draw comparisons. This unit does not focus on the diversity of the cultures; rather, it focuses on the similarity of economic depravity that enables totalitarian rule. The cumulative assignment is an informative writing piece. The evidence compiled throughout the unit from various text sources will be used as an outline for the essay. UNIT STRUCTURE This unit is structured as five activities, and each activity should be taught over the course of two days. The unit should be taught within a 2 -3 week parameter. The activities are structured for a 60 minute class period. The skill-based instruction is embedded within the content that is being built over the course of the unit. The order of the three countries is purposeful. Germany is introduced first because the students bring to the table the most prior knowledge about Hitler’s Germany. They are able to build a stronger context around their reading without a lot of background knowledge. The Soviet Union is introduced second because the students are aware of Stalin and his totalitarian regime, but are unaware of the history, and China is introduced last because they lack understanding of the modern day communist China. Each lesson integrates reading strategies, vocabulary building, writing processes, and discussion to enhance the content being conveyed to the students. They are able to form a deeper context of the unit by being able to read, write, and speak the material being learned. DIFFERENTIATION Most classes are heterogeneous mixture of students. In order to scaffold and extend the unit productively, there are a few strategies that could be used. When reading text that has a dense vocabulary, multiple readings are beneficial. This provides an opportunity for teachers to zone in on specific aspects of a text, and highlight the areas where a student is struggling.
Another scaffolding technique would be a teacher “think-aloud.” While modeling the skill, the teacher can speak through the process of annotating through a text. This provides a model for students who are unsure of the process that it takes to build a context through reading. Since this unit involves a lot of different texts, chunking the text is a good option for students who have low stamina and struggle with comprehension. By splitting the text, it focuses the student on a certain portion, enabling them to make sense of the text in smaller pieces. For students who are gifted learners, inquiry based instruction and developing questions are a strategy that can enrich the reading experience for these students. Inquiry based learning allows the students to take the identification piece, and develop their own questions. It is more independent, self-guided, and fosters a sense of responsibility in their reading.
HOW THE UNIT TEACHES WRITING Although the unit mainly focuses on the skill of comparing and citing evidence, writing plays an important role throughout the unit. The summative assessment is an informative essay that uses the evidence compiled from activities during the unit. The writing process is an important aspect of the unit, as is the organization of their information. HOW THE UNIT TEACHES VOCABULARY Vocabulary is an important piece to this unit because it enhances the context of the reading. Without the content specific vocabulary, the students would not have the deepened understanding of the characteristics of these variant societies. Vocabulary is practiced throughout and also used as a tool to develop a broader context of the content taught. One way that vocabulary is integrated, is by having a continuous list of content specific words. The words are meant to create patterns throughout the reading, and are emphasized through specific annotation strategies throughout.
HOW TO USE THIS UNIT This unit is located in a compressed folder, split into three folders: Unit Text, Teacher Tools, and Student Handouts.
UNIT OVERVIEW
TEXT SETS
Title Author Date Source/Publisher TEXT SET #1 - Introduction Hitler and Mussolini in n/a June, 1940 Flickr Munich Chairman Mao Inspects Chen Yanning 1972 Flickr the Guangdong Countryside Stalin n/a n/a Flickr dictionaryreference.co n/a 2015 Random House Dictionary m Dictatorship and n/a June 2015 Boundless/Boundless Sociology Totalitarianism TEXT SET #2 - Germany Hitler Comes to Power n/a n/a United States Holocaust Memorial Museum German J. Bradford 1997 Slouching Towards Utopia? The Unemployment and DeLong Economic History of the Twenty- Nazi Vote Share first Century/University of California at Berkeley Semiotic Apocalypse n/a 1923 Creativecommons.org TEXT SET #3 – Soviet Union The Russian Revolution n/a October 20, The Rational Revolution/ 2007 www.rationalrevolution.net Quotes from the Varied Varied Varied Revolution Russian Revolution Samuel June 28, 2014 www.tes.co.uk Ripman TEXT SET #4 - China Red China humanityPleas July 31, 2008 You Tube e Spring Silkworms Mao Dun 1932 China Books (Chun Can) Mao Zedong n/a June 2015 Discovery Education/ Funk & Wagnalls TEXT SET #5 – Informative Writing Writing Text Types n/a n/a Baltimore County Public Schools Informative Essay: n/a 2015 www.study.com Definition, Examples, and Structure
STUDENT PURPOSE Students will read multiple texts throughout the course of a unit and construct main ideas about their reading, while citing important textual evidence that supports their ideas. As a cumulative assignment, the students will write an informative essay explaining how countries that have totalitarian governments share similar qualities. PROGRESSION 1. Introduction to Totalitarian governments
2. Determining main idea of the characteristics of Germany during Hitler’s Rise to Power
3. Determining main idea of the characteristics of the Soviet Union during Hitler’s Rise to Power
4. Determining main idea of the characteristics of China during Hitler’s Rise to Power
5. Constructing an informative essay
ACTIVITY ONE Objective: Students will be able to determine the difference between a dictatorship and a totalitarian regime based on content specific vocabulary words, primary source documents, and the evidence they’ve found throughout the text. Standards to be addressed: RI 7.1, RI 7.10, RH 7.10, RH.6-8.7, L 7.4 Technology Note: If school is 1:1 students can have the option of commenting directly on the photograph. You should share the document with your students and allow for comments. The comments will compile on the Smart Board screen, and you will be able to see the students’ activity. If students do not have a computer, split the screen by having a blank document on one side and the photograph on the other. As the students identify characteristics, write down their finding on the board. Compile a list of student activity. 1. Introduce the unit by showing photographs of each totalitarian ruler, prompting the students for each leader. - 1st slide: “Hitler and Mussolini in Munich.” Using the context built through the previous discussion, introduce the 1st photograph [Slide 1, Activity 1.1]. Have students respond to the following: What characteristics do you notice within the photograph?
- 2nd slide: “Chairman Mao Inspects the Guangdong Countryside.” Have students continue the prompt: What characteristics do you notice within the photograph? - 3rd slide: “Stalin.” Have students continue the prompt: What characteristics do you notice within the photograph? 2. Present the question to the class: Based on your findings, what are some of the characteristics that repeat? [Allow for student discussion]. At the end of discussion, state: All of the men in the photographs were totalitarian leaders. It is important to remember that the people allowed these rulers assume power. Throughout the unit we will find out what characteristics of a society enable totalitarian governments. 3. Present the word “Totalitarianism” and the stems associated with the word (tot-, and –is) [Google Slides, Introduction to Unit, Activity 1.1]. Students will determine a definition of “totalitarianism” based on the context they’ve developed through the photographs and discussion. Allow 30 seconds for students to develop their own definition, and have the students conduct a think-pair-share of their definition. Allow 30 seconds – 1 minute of whole class discussion after the think-pair-share. 4. Show the students the dictionary definition and have the students listen to how the word is pronounced. Allow a 30 second discussion about the similarities and differences of their own definition to the “official” definition. Make sure that the students write down the given definition for “totalitarianism.” 5. State: Before we read about totalitarianism, we will be looking at vocabulary that helps us to understand the main idea. Authors use specific vocabulary to help emphasize meaning throughout the text. This is what you will be exploring together in groups. - Split the class into groups (between 2 – 5 members) and hand each group a stack of vocabulary cards [Vocabulary Card Sort]. The students should analyze the words, and create no more than five categories where the students should place the words. This should be independent, and the only restraint should be the number of categories, not the number of words per category. - Once the students have divided their words into categories, they should be able to explain WHY they chose those categories. Ask: How do these vocabulary words relate to the photographic knowledge we’ve collected already? How does it relate to the definition of totalitarianism? - Once the class has completed their card sort, each group should take 30 seconds and present their categories. 6. Hand out the reading “Dictatorship and Totalitarianism” and the “Dictatorship and Totalitarianism Chart.” The teacher should have a copy of the article ready to annotate for their class. State: There are many misconceptions that a dictatorship and a totalitarian leader are the same thing. We’ve learned already that totalitarianism is a type of government that rules all. Throughout the reading, we are going to determine how these share similarities, but are different two types of government. Turn the students’ attention to the chart. State: As we read, we are going to use the evidence provided in the text to determine the characteristics of how a totalitarian government is different from a dictatorship. 7. Teacher will model the first paragraph of annotation point out the following: details that support the main idea, vocabulary words that emphasize the main idea. - This can be done through chunking, writing small blurbs, or nonfiction coding. The strategies should depend on the students that are in the class. For below- level readers, the students could benefit from chunking the text so their reading slows down and they are able to reflect upon each section of the text. For above level readers, the students could benefit from asking a question at the end of the text and then reflect upon a variety of answers. 8. Have students finish the reading independently, while still looking for the above requirements. After the reading is complete, the students should use their annotations and complete the chart by assigning the appropriate characteristics to each form of government. As the students finish, they should pair with another classmate and compare and contrast their answers. Make changes if necessary. When the students are finished comparing their answers, show the key as a whole class. Monitor the students as they make the necessary changes to their document. It is important that the students write down the correct answers in each column, and that the response contains specific details (even though they will vary). 9. Exit Pass: “Totalitarian or Not?” The students should complete the Exit Pass by reading a small piece of text and determining, based on the class work, reading, and discussion, if the government is totalitarian or not. The students should hand these in before they leave class. ACTIVITY TWO Objective: Students will be reviewing the documents from yesterday’s lesson in order to determine an understanding of totalitarianism. Then, the students will use their prior knowledge of Hitler’s Germany to see how the conditions in Germany post WWI were conducive to a totalitarian regime. The students will be viewing both print and non-print texts and cite evidence that upholds their claim. Standards: RI 7.1, RI 7.10, RH 7.10, RH.6-8.7, L 7.4 1. Review totalitarian characteristics from yesterday’s lesson. This could be done whole-class as a quick fire warm up to today’s lesson. The students should have their notes from yesterday to refer back to in order to further develop a context of totalitarianism. - Review definition of totalitarianism and its structure of government. See artifact 1 from yesterday. 2. One the board (whiteboard or smart board) draw the definition circle graph that is going to have the ideas that the students will develop prior to the reading. Germany is studied first due to the fact that most students should have at least some knowledge of Hitler’s Germany. [See blank Circle Map and key]. As a class, create a list of things that the students know about Hitler’s Germany. Save this, so during the reading, the students can refer to their brainstorming. This would differentiate the lesson for students that are more visual learners. 3. Pre-reading: Print off the article “Hitler Comes to Power” and the questions “Text Reading: Germany’s Conditions.” Before the students read the article on their own model the annotation strategies that they should use during their reading. Start with the text features – title and picture with a caption. Prompt: Look at the photo and the caption; what features may be important to the information in the article. - There might be some students who need prompting throughout this activity. If students are struggling with ideas, discuss some characteristics from the pictures. Characteristics could include the mass of people and the information given in the passage. 4. Since the paragraphs are short, and each discusses a very specific idea, it would be helpful to chunk the text as their annotation activity. Then, the annotations made on the text should be transferred to a box and bullets format, which will organize their information [see blank Box and Bullets and key]. For the first paragraph, read it together. The teacher should be modeling the strategy for the students. With chunking, make sure to read and underline, and then at the end of each paragraph, write down the main idea. The annotations that were made during the reading should support the main idea. All of this information should be transferred to a Box and Bullets organizer, so students can see the main idea and the three most important details that support this idea. - Modeling, chunking the text, and the Box and Bullets organizer are differentiation pieces that will help the students organize their note taking. 5. The text dependent questions will be a formative assessment, which will show the teacher how well the students were able to interpret the text. Print out the text dependent questions for “Hitler Comes to Power” and have the students complete these independently. As the students are answering the questions, the teacher should be rotating around the room, and making sure that the students are on task, and redirecting the students if there are misconceptions. 6. Following the reading, the students will be analyzing a photograph, which both reference the relationship between Hitler’s rise to power and the economy of Germany pre-WWII. The task for the photograph should be done in groups of 3. Depending on the class, the teacher can either have the students organize themselves, or place them into groups. Using the details that were discussed from the passage, each group will develop a heading and a caption for the photograph as if they were seeing it on the front page of a newspaper. Give the students 5 – 10 minutes to discuss amongst themselves, and to write down their heading and caption. - If your students have not had experience writing a heading and a caption, the teacher may want to provide an example for guidance and clarification. - An extension activity for above level readers: Have students construct multiple questions that they would want to ask one of the children in the photograph. Have them base their questions on the text that they’ve been studying, focusing on the economic structure at that time. The questions should mirror the characteristics that they have read, and what they are viewing within the photograph. Have the students then answer the questions from the perspective of one of the children in the photograph. Have the students present their interview in front of the class. 7. The students should present their captions to the class as a whole group discussion. Each group will take a turn discussing their justification for choosing their caption and header, and identify why the details from the text helped the students determine their answers. 8. Exit Ticket: Students will be presented with the graph “German Unemployment and Nazi Vote Share.” To show understanding for the day, have the students analyze the correlation between unemployment and the rise of Hitler’s rule. Have the students answer the question in complete sentences.
ACTIVITY THREE Objective: Students will discuss the conditions of Russia post Russian Revolution that led to Lenin, then Stalin’s totalitarian regime. They will look at both print and non- print texts and cite evidence that supports their claim (both in writing and discussion). Standards: Standards: RI 7.1, RI 7.10, RH 7.10, RH.6-8.7, L 7.4 1. Beginning the lesson on the Soviet Union, students will be given a date from the timeline “Russian Revolution.” 2 – 4 students should receive the same date. The students will have to find their group members within the class and conduct a short discussion about their date. Prompt: Think about each event that is on your card. Based on the actions of the civilians, what might their attitude be towards their government? Students should take turns discussing their thoughts. As a class, each group will discuss their consensus about their event. They will present their findings to the class in chronological order, as they attach their date to a whole class timeline. 2. Hand out reading, “The Russian Revolution.” Read through this text similarly to the text from the Germany activity. The students should be practicing main idea and supporting details. They’ll be using the Box and Bullets strategy in order to organize their annotations. [See blank and key]. - This text is more difficult than the Germany text. It might require further scaffolding, such as multiple readings, read-aloud, and chunking the text. 3. Hand out the text-dependent questions for this reading. The students should use their reading and annotations in order to help them answer the questions. These should be completed independently. The teachers should use these questions as a formative assessment to see if the students are able to correctly interpret the text. 4. Refer back to the text for the next activity. As a class, have the students take notes on topic sentences. Refer back to the text and explain how the authors in both the Germany text and the Soviet Union text used topic sentences in order to determine the main idea. Conduct this lesson as a whole class. 5. The next activity will be focused on collaborative discussion. The students will be creating open-ended discussion on the readings, and their thoughts about totalitarian rule. Throughout the discussion, the students should be referring to the reading and their notes to emphasize their points. The students have a choice in how they want to write their questions: a. Frayer Model – Students fill in each quadrant about the details from the text and develop questions based on the information b. Costa’s Level of Questioning – Using the question starters to form academic questions based on the reading. - This is a good opportunity to differentiate for low level readers. If the students are having trouble, have the low-level readers use only the first or second level of questioning. For higher level learners, there questions should come from the second and third level of questioning. c. Bloom’s Taxonomy – Using the question starters for each skill, have the students pick three skills that work for their question development
- For lower level learners, have the students focus on being able to identify the information before they more toward more analytical questions. On the other side, have the higher level learners focus more on the analytical questions that require a more in-depth analysis of the reading. 6. When the students are finished developing their questions, have them engage in meaningful discussion. Rotate constantly around the room, giving prompts to students who need to be more engaged, and redirect if the students are not grasping the information from the text. - One way to encourage engagement during discussion is for the teacher to act as a scribe as they are rotating around the classroom. At the end of discussion, the teacher should share what they scribed during rotation to provide an extension discussion with the whole class. Allow the students to comment on the other students’ ideas, and ask questions if necessary. 7. Exit Ticket: Have the students analyze the three quotes from the people who lived in the Soviet Union. Answer the following question: “Refer back to the previous texts from both Germany and the Soviet Union. How do these quotes emphasize the relationship between the rise of totalitarian leaders and a struggling economy?” ACTIVITY FOUR Objective: Students will write clear and coherent topic sentences for their informative paper. The students will explore the economy and conditions of totalitarian China by investigating information from informative and literary texts. The students will be able to – independently – cite information that supports their claims, both in writing and discussion through seminar. Standards: Standards: RI 7.1, RI 7.10, RH 7.10, RH.6-8.7, L 7.4 1. Start the class with an activity reviewing the characteristics of a topic sentence. Pair students (or let them choose) together for this activity. Allow the students to discuss their answers. Each group should get 3 sets of supporting details and 3 topic sentences. Have the students match the topic sentence to the supporting details. They should be able to determine why they associated that topic sentence with the details provided. - This activity should be used as an introduction to writing. It is important that the students understand topic sentences because these sentences structure informative writing. The teacher needs to be walking around the classroom, making sure that the students are focused on the details of the text in order to make informed decisions about each topic sentence. - The teacher should be asking the students why they are choosing specific topic sentences, and what patterns they see among the details they are looking at. 2. After going over the topic sentence activity, hand out the article titled “Mao Zedong.” At this point, the students have had a lot of practice analyzing the main idea and supporting details of articles. Don’t model the text whole class at this point. *Remind* the students that they need to analyze the article with the strategies that the class has practiced over the last week. They should go through and create a box and bullets for the China article.
- For this annotation, have the students underline each topic sentence in the article. Before they read the article, have the students determine what they think the passage will be about based solely on the topic sentence. As they read, they should be marking the text with comments and questions about the information they are reading. This is the hardest text because the students have the least amount of prior knowledge. It is important that they look for vocabulary patterns, and specific details in order for them to interpret the text effectively. 3. The students should struggle throughout this text because of the difficulty. The teacher should be conferencing with their students while they are annotating through the text. The teacher should know to focus on those students that are low-level readers, and ask them questions about what they are reading. - Some of the following questions could be: - What is the main idea of this selection? - How were the people feeling? - What connections do you see between this reading and the others? - What kind of person is Mao Zedong? 4. The students will answer text-dependent questions relating to the connection between the economic struggles of China and how it enabled Mao Zedong to rise to power. Their annotations should include the citation of specific text evidence that supports this idea. - There are a different ways that the teacher can check for understanding. First, the teacher can hold a whole class discussion. However, because the students are at the point where they should be able to work more independently, it might be best to give the students time to concentrate on their reading and meeting with them individually. Conferences are a good way to scaffold for students that are below-level readers. It is also a very quick indication if a student understands the text or is struggling. - Extension for above level readers: Have students construct questions that are open ended. They should discuss the economic conditions of all three countries that have been studied throughout the unit. The teacher can present these discussions in two ways: the students, in small groups, can have small seminars based on the information, or the teacher can conduct a whole class seminar. 5. The next activity will be a video titled, “Red China.” The purpose of this video is to show the students the economic struggles that the people of China were going through before Mao Zedong came to power. It also implies why Mao Zedong was so popular. While watching the video, the students should be paying close attention to the people’s lifestyle throughout the video. Answer the question: “What characteristics about the people and their surroundings reflect the readings?” “What connections can you draw from the video and the article about Mao Zedong?” - After the video is over, have the students turn and talk to one another about what they saw throughout the video. Then, come together as a whole class and conduct a short 3 – 5 minutes classroom discussion about what the students observed throughout the video. 6. The final activity for Part IV is the literary text “Spring Silkworms.” The purpose for this literary text is to show how fictional stories evolve from real events, people, and places. “Spring Silkworms” is a fictional portrayal of rural China. The author connected the characters in his story to the people who experiencing this strife in real life. The students should go through and annotate the connections they see between the informational texts that they’ve been reading, and the fictional portrayal found in “Spring Silkworms.” They should be able to draw on the information that they’ve found throughout text not only from China, but from Germany and the Soviet Union as well. It is important that the students are drawing on their knowledge of totalitarian governments throughout the assignment. - It is important that the students read a fictional portrayal of real events so they can make connections between fiction and nonfiction. This reading is purposeful because it shows the students that fictional inspiration is taken from the world around them. - After the reading is finished the students should complete the text dependent questions. After the students are finished reading the text, the teacher should conduct a whole-class discussion about the connections between this piece of literature and the nonfiction that been discussed in class. The discussion should also be about the characteristics of the community that led to totalitarian leadership, and draw connections there as well. 7. Exit Ticket: The students should hand in the answers to their questions from “Spring Silkworm.” Explain to the students that the next activity the students will be drafting their informative essays. They should bring all of their notes that they’ve compiled throughout the unit to class because they are going to be using it for their outline.
ACTIVITY FIVE Objective: Students will be researching information about the Soviet Union/Russia, Germany, and China. Based on their evidence of past economic structure and current economic structure, the students will determine if the country has progressed from their former totalitarian regimes. The students will build on their discussion and presentation skills as they piece together their slideshow and present it to their peers. Standards: RI 7.1, RI 7.10, RH 7.10, RH.6-8.7, L 7.4 1. Based on your classroom environment, the students should choose their groups, or the teacher should choose. The groups should be about 3 – 5 students. - For low-level learners: The students who are lower level should be given Germany. The familiarity with this country’s past should foster self confidence in their ability to participate in the group. - For high-level learners: The students who are higher level should be given China based on the unfamiliarity of this country’s history. These students should have the ability to research harder topics and come to their own conclusions based on the information learned.
2. Hand out the rubric and the website document to each group and explain the directions. The students’ goal is to compare and contrast their countries’ past economic structure and their current economic structure. Based on the information learned, they are to make a determination of their countries’ progression since the demise of the totalitarian regime. - For low-lever learners: The website document that is handed out to this group should only contain the websites that they need to use for their research. This provides a variety of sources, but limits the students’ access to random websites. Also, it doesn’t overwhelm the students with information. - For high-level learners: The website document that is handed out to this group should include both the websites and the search engines. This provides a wider spectrum of information, and allows the students to sift through more information than other groups. 3. The students should use 40 – 45 min of class time to research their countries. The students must have a completed story board prior to getting in the groups as to ensure that each student is coming to their group with valid information for their presentation. 3. Once the directions are given and the documents have been handed to the students, the students must work in groups in order to construct their slideshow and presentation. At this point, the teacher becomes the facilitator in instruction and rotates around the room fielding any questions that groups might have. This should take about 1 – 2 class periods. 4. Once students have finished their presentations, they are to present their findings to the class. As the presentations are taking place, the student audience should be taking notes on the structure of governments so they can use this information for their papers. 5. Teacher should refer to the “Slideshow Rubric” to determine grade for presentation.
ACTIVITY SIX * Teach a mini-lesson on how to appropriately cite text from multiple types of sources. Purdue Owl is a great website that explains how to appropriately cite text from copyrighted sources. Also, www.easybib.com is another resource that can be used to create a works cited. 1. Have the students take out their notes from all three countries: Germany, the Soviet Union, and China. At this point in the unit the students should have all of the materials needed to construct their essay. Present the prompt: Write a 5 paragraph informative essay explaining how countries with similar economic struggles enable a totalitarian government, and what the implications on the citizens are. 2. Hand out the outline for the paper [I.C.E Pre Write]. The outline is organized using the I.C.E strategy to help them organize their thoughts.
- The teacher should use the instructions given on the outline to go over introduction requirements. - For lower- level learners: This should not be the first time the students have written an introduction. Providing a model of an introduction and highlighting the different parts should help students who need more practice. - Have the students write the introduction. 3. The students should use all of their notes and readings from the previous lessons to help pre-write their paper. The students should fill in each box with information, but it is up to the teacher whether or not they would like complete sentences. Technology Note: The outline is available through Google Docs; however, it can be printed out if the teacher would rather have their students write their outline. - This activity should be similar to a workshop format. The students should be working independently and at their own pace. The teacher should be circulating and conferencing consistently. - This outline is crucial to the writing piece because this outline contains all of the supporting quotes that the students will use throughout their writing. 4. As the students finish their outline, have the students find a partner that they will work with as their peer helper. These students should help each other throughout the writing lessons if there is confusion or questions throughout the writing process. - Use the “Peer Review” document to have the students engage in meaningful conversation about their essays. - For low-level learners: Have the students pair up by mixed ability levels to help scaffold students who struggle with reading and writing. This helps both high and low-level learners because the low-level learners have additional supports, and the high-level learner is being challenged by teaching content. 5. When the students are finished with their pre-writing phase, explain to the students how they will be writing their paragraphs using the I.C.E strategy to identify, cite, and explain their information throughout their paper. - This should not be the first time that the students are using the I.C.E. strategy to construct paragraphs. This is a good way to help the students organize their thoughts, and to make sure that they have all the components necessary for a complete paragraph. This strategy ensures that the students are explaining in their own words, and also using the text to support their points. - Depending on time and the ability level in your classroom, the teacher can choose to do a lesson with transitions or subject verb agreement. The most important aspect of this paper is that the students are using the content they’ve learned from the plethora of texts they’ve been exposed to. The teacher should also do a short lesson on conclusions, and have the students incorporate these into their papers. Again, this should not be the first time that the students are writing conclusions. 6. After the drafting stage is complete, the students should get with their peer helper and revise and edit each other’s work. Use the “Revision Checklist” in order to help the students organize their revisions. Have the students trade back their papers and have them make all the necessary changes. - Use the “Informative Essay Rubric” in order to check the students work. Note that this paper should focus mostly on the content of the piece. The assessment should be critiquing the students’ knowledge of totalitarian governments, specifically from Germany, the Soviet Union, and China. There should be some regard for conventions, but it should not be the focus of this paper.