Writing in Social Studies

The writing rubric for social studies is divided into two parts - Making a Claim and providing student Content knowledge.

1. A Claim correctly and clearly answers the writing prompt (we practice the CUB strategy every day in our warm up to master identifying the focus of a writing prompt or question).

2. To show Content knowledge, students should include vocabulary and specific details into their writing. Specific details can include any of the following historical themes:

IMPORTANT! Before submitting their work, students should edit their writing to make sure that their Content details support their Claim, and that the Content details include vocabulary terms.

There are two types of writing in Social Studies

1. Constructed Response - CR's focus on student Content knowledge. Students are not required to write in multiple paragraphs on CR's, and can even bullet point their details, but should still write in complete sentences and include a Claim statement. Citing a source is not required on CR's.

2. Extended Response - ER's assess student's ability to use sources to support their Content Knowledge. Students are expected to organize their ER's into multiple paragraphs and correctly cite information from provided sources. Cited information must support the student's claim and other content details. Students should Cite sources using the following format:
   The Type of document + the title, author, or topic + linking verb such as states, explains, or describes... Example: The article by Jared Diamond states...; The excerpt from Hammurabi's Code describes..., etc.