About a month ago, I had students set their academic goals for Social Studies. In order to cement those goals, I began to provide extensive feedback to every assignment, short or long, in class or out of class, because so many students indicated that they would follow my feedback as they went forward in our study of history. So, what happened in the last month?
The classroom writing of 8th graders is more back on track with what I know they can do. Before they were just wandering with no energy to write. While I would like to think that my prompting (and warnings) might have influenced them, I tend to think they were just tested out and tired. An 8th grader's thinking becomes lax in the winter. One good grade and CSAP and their personal lives and the work for other classes, lulls them into a false sense of security.
The last two assignments that have required their writing to show what they know in how they are problem solving for the Slavery unit, have come alive. I believe that the timeline work we've done helps to solidify the events of the past, so that nothing is in isolation. Knowing that the cause and effect relationships in history can be analyzed, is a wonderful writing tool when students truly discover it and apply it.
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