When Humanities and Literacy Collide Kate Crowhurst HTAV Middle Years Conference 28.10.11 Kate Crowhurst, 28.10.11

When Humanities and Literacy Collide

Kate CrowhurstHTAV Middle Years Conference

28.10.11Kate Crowhurst, 28.10.11

Why is Literacy Important?• Access content• Understand ideas/concepts• Express own ideas • Share ideas with others

Kate Crowhurst, 28.10.11

Map of Global Literacy

• Relevance to your classroom


Connection to History • Access history content – key events, • Understand key events, perspectives of the

past• Express own point of view on past events such

as the impact of key events like WWI on people at the time

• Share their ideas through written essays and organise their thoughts in projects or oral presentations


Different Literacy Levels & Needs

Low Middle (At Level) High• Language support• May lack confidence in expressing ideas to class• Hesitant to write lots of information (handwriting, spelling)• Need additional, sometimes one-one-one support to complete tasks

• Can complete tasks with structure and teacher guidance/support• Need to add more detail to their ideas – do not fully explain what they say• They have the ideas but need support to organise their thinking

• Need to be challenged in their learning• Often complete tasks quickly without needing teacher support/guidance• Capable of managing own learning with independent tasks (often needs these to stay motivated/challenged)


Catering to Student Diversity

• Where is the student at in terms of their literacy abilities?

• Prior knowledge of content and concepts• Diagnose literacy level - from observations/student work

or formal testing of literacy (see below or student English results and progress)

• Refer to Department frameworks:– VELS (OnDemand testing data)– NAPLAN data (Writing, reading, speaking and listening abilities) – Rubrics of student performance – ESL Developmental Continuum


Low Literacy• Know your students’ backgrounds– ESL (English as a Second Language) – D&I (Disability and Integration)

• Strategy: – Heavily structured– Emphasis on vocabulary – so they become more confident in

expressing their ideas– Start with students’ prior knowledge check – Make connections to their experiences (personalise

learning)– Model what is expected to scaffold students’ abilities Kate Crowhurst, 28.10.11

Low Literacy• Activities:– True/False– Word searches– Videos (Horrible Histories) – Visuals– Cloze exercises– Role-plays– Hands on activities (word jumbles)– Highlight keywords as read through an article– Synonyms/Antonyms for Keywords (Academic Vocabulary


Low Literacy – Teaching Strategy in Practice

• Example of teaching World War I (WWI) concepts/content• Teaching Context: At start of topic• Start with word splash (incorporating key ideas/content so students

can make predictions)– Keep word number short – Synonyms/Antonyms/use in a sentence– All together in a concept/content prediction of article/topic

Alliances World War

Conflict Destruction Millions

Great Struggle Europe Powers Kate Crowhurst, 28.10.11


• Use visuals so students can visualise the places talked about– Prior knowledge of locations – Make connections between their experiences and the topic (ESL in

particular)

When using locations get students to make connections to locations on maps they know first: -Where is Australia?- Where is your birth country?- Where is your favourite singer from?



• Use visuals so students can visualise the places talked about– Prior knowledge of locations – Make connections between their experiences and the topic (ESL in particular)

Take the main location and compare maps of today/at time of study (1914): -What countries do you know on the maps?- Which map is Europe today?- Why is one map multi-coloured and the other map in only 3 colours?


http://www.mrhenges.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/europe_map_political1.gif


• Read article together as a class (reading aloud strategy)• Bold the keywords from the word splash (used in context)• Students comfortable using the words can summarise the article in 1-2

sentences – Need to be supported in this through teacher modelling, scaffolding them to use summarising skill independently

Wars have happened throughout history but strong alliances led to a war that affected the whole world. World War I (1914-1918) was a turning point in history. No other conflict matched the terrible destruction of World War I. Millions of people died, often in battles that didn’t seem to have any winners or losers – only dead and wounded.

At the time World War I was known as “the Great War”. It was a struggle between Europe’s great powers. On one side were the Central powers (led by Germany Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Turkish Empire). On the other side were the Allied Powers (led by the British Empire, France, Belgium, Russia, Italy and America). Kate Crowhurst, 28.10.11

Middle Literacy• Know your students’ backgrounds:

– Are they motivated in their learning? (Do they read regularly to increase literacy? etc.)

– What progress have they made in their literacy (Were they ahead or behind the expected literacy level last year? What are their abilities compared to their peers in the classroom?)

• Strategy: – Help model to students how to organise their ideas– Enhance their vocabulary (Academic vocabulary) – Support students to regularly use literacy skills such as

paraphrasing paragraphs– Explicitly teach literacy skills to students so that they are aware

of the strategies they useKate Crowhurst, 28.10.11

Middle Literacy• Activities:– Academic vocabulary work– Graphic organisers – Describing events seen in videos/articles – Synonyms/antonyms of keywords (at a more

challenging level than ESL students to add description to writing work)

– Reading and using evidence/examples of issues (to use in writing about an issue/idea)


Middle Literacy – Teaching Strategy in Practice

• Example of teaching World War I (WWI) concepts/content

• Teaching Context: Setting essay task after teaching content/concepts of causes of WWI

• Start with paraphrasing the essay question (the keywords in the question)

“What main causes led to World War 1?”Main – Most important

Causes – Reasons Led – Started World War I – First war to involve the worldKate Crowhurst, 28.10.11


CAUSE DESCRIBE (What) EXPLAIN (How/Why) Alliances- What were they called?- Who was in each

alliance?- Why did they cause

WWI?

Imperialism- What is Imperialism?- How would Empires

taking over countries cause WWI?

Militarism- What is militarism?- How would building up

armies/weapons cause WWI?

• Using graphic organiser to describe and explain ideas



• Students use their ideas in the graphic organiser to sort ideas into order by topic• They add detail to their ideas by describing and explaining what they mean

• This would be a scaffolded task before students independently work on an essay for assessment of their skills (teacher modelling what is expected)

•Model Paragraph: The alliances were one cause of WWI. These were the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy and the Ottoman Empire on one side and the Triple Entente of the British Empire, France and Russia on the other side. The alliances created two sides of many powerful countries which were all itching for a fight.


High Literacy• Know your students’ backgrounds

– Have they always been above the expected level?– Does their class behaviour conform with what you would expect

from their literacy level? – Are they currently being challenged?

• Strategy: – Inquiry-based learning (Making inquiries, direct own learning)– Enhance vocabulary knowledge with higher-level content– Independent learning tasks (with direction) on issues within a

topic for student investigation – Take leadership role in teaching practice (modelling thinking

processes to other students) Kate Crowhurst, 28.10.11

High Literacy• Activities:– Research issues within a topic– Given evidence on different perspectives in a topic

(compare/contrast these)– Inquiry-based learning tasks with some directions (Eg.

Websites to access information, goal of research, format of report)

– Organise an excursion for the class (with teacher input/direction)

– Use vocabulary from Year 11/12 content or exam questions so can practise using task phrases (Explain, analyse, compare and contrast) Kate Crowhurst, 28.10.11

High Literacy – Teaching Strategy in Practice

• Example of teaching World War I (WWI) concepts/content

• Teaching Context: Teaching after the war issues

• Students given research report task on returning soldiers. The goal of the report is to find out what happened to soldiers returning to Australia from WWI


High Literacy – Teaching Strategy in Practice

• Students are provided with teacher modelling in:– Report structure– Goals of report• Websites with relevant information• Textbooks available in library with relevant information• Teachers within school/contacts in local area with

relatives who fought in WWI

• Students are given this project as a task over several lessons, reporting progress to teacher and peers (Modelling organisation and thinking processes to peers) Kate Crowhurst, 28.10.11

Catering to Student Diversity in Literacy Levels

• Differentiation is supporting each student to achieve a set learning goal– At their level– Shown in independent practice• You can differentiate by • Support (More teacher support to lower literacy

students)• Task (Different tasks) • Outcomes (Open-ended tasks)


Differentiation in Teaching Practice

• A key way to cater to the literacy abilities of all students is through an explicit teaching approach

• This is in line with the Explicit Instructional Model (John Hattie)

• It provides for a set learning goal, teaching of key content/concepts, guided practice of

the tasks by students before students independently practice their use of the content/concepts and then review this as a class



• In action – The Explicit Instructional Model Phase of Lesson Essential Elements

1 Beginning of Lesson

The HookStimulate interest, show learning purpose

Video of alliances/Images of Alliances

Learning IntentionsEstablish learning goals and write on board/display

On board: Students able to explain what is meant by an alliance

Activate/ReviewConnect to ss prior learning and knowledge

Review: When have you seen alliance before?

2 Presentation

Teacher input – Teach conceptDefinitions, examples, teach vocabulary

Teach definition of allianceAn alliance is a partnership where people support each other and assist one another when needed A person in an alliance with you is called your ally. Someone who attacks your ally is your enemy.



• In action – The Explicit Instructional Model 2 Presentation

Teacher input – Teach conceptDefinitions, examples, teach vocabulary

Teach definition of allianceAn alliance is a partnership where people support each other and assist one another when needed A person in an alliance with you is called your ally. Someone who attacks your ally is your enemy.

Teacher input – Teach and model the skill

List of synonyms and antonymsSynonyms: Gang, coalition, union, pact, deal, partnership, bond, link, groupingAnonym: Separation, divorce, alone, disunion, no deal, individual

Check for understandingSS paraphrase and summarise

Contribute to synonyms/antonymsSummarise information in their books

3 Guided Practice

Development and EngagementTasks/activities with well-scaffolded opportunity for ss to apply skill/knowledge

Teacher models the alliance circle task (purpose and what is expected of students) Students complete their own alliance circles (own experiences create meaning) – set 10min

Feedback and Individual SupportTeacher identifies ss needing support/guided practice

Students instructed to get into partners and explain their circles to each otherShare what they thought of the task with teacher



• In action – The Explicit Instructional Model

4 Independent Practice

ApplicationSS apply concept/skill in different contexts, can be homework/individual/group-work

Students stick their alliance circles in their books. They then combine ideas with another group to extend the concepts in their alliance circle (done in a different colour to original ideas)

Extension is prediction question:What would happen if two countries, both with different allies got into a fight with each other? – Students write prediction in books

5 Review ReviewReinforce major points of lesson, ss feedback on what and how they’ve learned

Students all given 2 post its – on one they write something they learned, on the other they write something they want to know more about – Students must stick these on the board on their way out as their exit pass


Conclusion

• Catering to student literacy abilities levels in teaching history allows all students to: – Access history content – key events, – Understand key events, perspectives of the past– Express own point of view on past events such as the impact of key

events like WWI on people at the time– Share their ideas through written essays and organise their thoughts

in projects or oral presentations

• This can be achieved through diagnosing student literacy levels and catering to these levels each lesson using:– Differentiation– Explicit teaching practice (EIM)


When Literacy and History Collide

Kate CrowhurstHTAV Middle Years Conference

28.10.11

Contact: 0406 755 [email protected]

[email protected] Kate Crowhurst, 28.10.11

mailto:[email protected]

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When Humanities and Literacy Collide Kate Crowhurst HTAV Middle Years Conference 28.10.11 Kate Crowhurst, 28.10.11