SS Practice #4

The DBQ Project was founded in 2000 to support teachers and students in learning to read smart, think straight, and write more clearly. As teachers, we believe all students can develop high-level critical thinking skills if they have consistent instruction and a chance to practice.

While the full investigations available at Read.Inquire.Write. are designed to meet Michigan social studies standards in grades 6-8, the writing tools they have can be adapted and used for any secondary grade level engaged in argumentative writing.

By actively investigating the past, rather than passively memorizing ready-made facts or accounts assembled by others, students strengthen their critical reading and writing skills, and improve their ability to handle and retain vital content information.

Social Studies Generation (SoGen) is comprised of three six-week sequences around topics commonly included in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade social studies content standards. These curricular materials can be used in place of the standard curriculum materials, or as a supplement. They provide opportunities to read, write, discuss, and build arguments about central concepts in social studies.

SOAPSTone (Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject, Tone) is an acronym for a series of questions that students must first ask themselves, and then answer, as they begin to plan their compositions.

RAFT assignments encourage students to uncover their own voices and formats for presenting their ideas about content information they are studying. Students learn to respond to writing prompts that require them to think about various perspectives: Role of the Writer, Audience, Format, and Topic.