Just thought I'd let you know I had an ah hah! moment today. The kids are reading a historical fiction novel then writing a newspaper focusing on one particular battle of the Civil War from the novel. I was afraid of it turning into a "fluff" project because they would probably just rewrite whatever articles they happened to read, until I started thinking what I really wanted out of them relating to AIW. Rather than a simple report they should collect facts, interpret what happened based on the facts collected, make an analysis of the two sides (what advantages/disadvantages), make an evaluation as to why one side was able to win (draw a conclusion), then synthesize (create an article about the battle that is completely new) an article.
The opportunity for construction of knowledge was there, but I had to explain to the students exactly what I was looking for. Usually, I would simply give the assignment, hope for the best, then be a little disappointed that they didn't give more effort. I think we just need to take the time to explain what our real expectations are.
Tomorrow we will discuss elaborated communication when writing the articles.
Scott Munford
8th Grade Social Studies
Fairfield Middle School