“Writing gives my students a deeper understanding of any content that I teach.  If I simply give them a list of things to memorize, they’re going to cram for a test and then forget it; however, if I can get them to think deeper and express their opinion about why something is important, they’re going to not only understand it better, but will be able to retain it better.”

 

Though middle and secondary teachers often don’t think to seek advice from their elementary school counterparts, there is a wealth of untapped potential for writing integration and cross-curricular lessons in the initial levels of education.  Not only do elementary school teachers have the expertise of teaching all subjects, but they often develop ways to reach a number of different levels in a single lesson that bridge subjects and genres.  I recently had the pleasure of speaking with veteran elementary school teacher, Lee Schleifer Brosius, about writing integration in her elementary school classes. Lee has as Masters of Education plus thirty extra graduate hours and seventeen years experience as an elementary teacher in 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 5th grade, and now in 1st grade.  She currently teaches in Prince William County, Virginia.

Lee is adamant in her conviction that writing integration engenders deep understanding in her students.  She says, “Writing is a great way for kids to tie together what they’ve learned and really apply the knowledge.  In it they use higher level skills, such as comparing and contrasting, rather than the rote memorization and spitting back what I have taught them.”

She explains that with the exception of students who struggle with learning disabilities that affect their written expression, most students will make great gains in understanding by using writing to express what they’ve learned, especially when coupled with explanations about their thinking.  She says that having the students include the “why” of the answer is crucial, “I always ask why, which is sometimes hard for 2^nd and 3^rd graders, but it’s the most important step.  Writing gives my students a deeper understanding of any content that I teach.  If I simply give them a list of things to memorize, they’re going to cram for a test and then forget it; however, if I can get them to think deeper and express their opinion about why something is important, they’re going to not only understand it better, but they will be able to retain it better.”

Lee does acknowledge that her elementary schedule allows her flexibility with writing integration that her middle and high school colleagues might not have, but she also feels that writing is easily embedded within subjects.   Lee has some quick lesson tips for incorporating consistent writing practice into all core subjects:

Social Studies Integration

• For discussion of famous explorers, Lee has her students prewrite about what they think an explorer is in broad terms.  During study, they have to draw an explorer and diagram what they think the explorer would need.  After the class has read about a variety of explorers, she has them write about the qualities that make good explorers.  They culminate with a poster activity where students decide on an Explorer of the Year and a Most Wanted poster for the most notorious explorer.
• When they study three local Native American tribes, Lee has students work with Venn diagrams together as a class to stimulate discussion of similarities and differences.  She has her students write about the tribes they would most and least like to be a member and explain why they made their choices. She says that for 2^nd and 3^rd graders, that typically equates to 5 or 6 sentences, but she requires that they include details about the tribes like the natural resources they use, their clothing, food, and homes.
• When they study the ancient democracies of  Greece and Rome, Lee has students complete a chart comparing each culture to the democracy in the United States today.  They have to describe which type is better and explain why.
• Students study rights and responsibilities, so Lee has discussions with her students about the differences between the two and how they tie together.  For instance, she gives the example of having the right to learn, but having the responsibility to study in order to learn.   She has students come up with many examples and choose one pairing for which they write a longer explanation of the differences.
• Lee explains that as a culminating activity when students study famous Americans, she has them pretend they are interviewing one of the people.  They have to write questions for the person and then have him or her answer as that famous American.  Then they would present the interview in front of the class.   She always gives them an example and guidance with the questions when she assigns this project.

Science Integration

• When they study famous inventors in science class, students have to write about how life would be different if one of the inventions had never been invented.  She then extends the lesson by having them draw their own design for an invention and write a paragraph about how it would be helpful and what it would be used for today.