What are some ways that we as educators are using social justice issues to make an impact on our students and get them thinking about ways they can make differences in their lives to reflect that?
Responses
Posted by Dewayne Dickens
August 23, 2011 at 6:39am
In my composition course, I ask students to identify a social issue that is of concern to them. When they decide on this issue and come up with reasons for their concerns, I ask them to turn this concern into a Social Action Research Paper. The students enjoy this paper because it allows them to explore a subject of interest to them They also decide how they will respond to this issue after they have done more research on why it exists in society and reflected over possible ways of responding to the issue.
Below is an example of my assignment for the students.
This paper involves citing appropriate
sources on a specific topic in order to demonstrate research skills in a 6-8
page paper. The student is expected to
present a variety of researched sources (e.g., magazines, newspapers, journals,
books, interviews, and encyclopedias).
In regard to the number of cited sources for a paper, as a rule of
thumb, a writer should work toward having the number of total cited sources
equal to two different sources per page.
Specifically, for a four-page paper, the writer should have a minimum of
eight different sources for the Works Cited page. This does not mean that the writer needs a
mandatory two sources per page, but it does mean that the sum total of cited
sources should equal to at least a minimum of eight different sources for a
four-page paper.
The Social Action
Research paper (6-page minimum) needs to address some issue that is of social
concern to the student. The student should present background to an
issue, a solution for addressing the issue, along with discussing the student’s
intended response to the issue after completing the research. Health,
education, parenting, legislation, child care, politics, economics, race,
gender, age, and technology tend to present social issues of interest for
students to consider.
The below RUBRIC will
be used for assessing the paper:
Checklist for Paper
Specific Task for the
Assignment
Done
1. Student clearly identifies a specific issue
of social concern
2. Address an issue of
social concern
a. Must be of concern
to the student
b. Must provide background
to the issue
c. Address why issue
should be of concern to others
d. Discuss the factors that
have created the issue
e. Student should
present a recommendation for addressing the issue
f. Student should present his or
her personal response to the issue (after completing the research)
The student could use narrative, several
examples, along with observed and lived experiences
3. Student has added
research in areas to make the paper more credible and objective
5. Polished: error free of
grammar rules, punctuation, and
Consider the
following distinction between documented and researched essays for the purposes
of this paper:
The difference in the documented and
researched paper is that the researched paper must provide multiple sources
(and types of sources) to support the thesis for the paper. While a documented paper may include multiple
sources and types of sources, it does not have the emphasis on providing
multiple supporting references that substantiate the significant points
asserted by the thesis of a paper—a research paper must have the overwhelming
support of multiple sources and variety of sources.
The research paper differs from the
documented paper in that it provides a more objective perspective of multiple
sides of topics and guides the reader (through cited evidence from multiple
authors and sources) to a conclusion that represents critical, fallacy-free
logic. Specifically, a research paper is
deficient if it relies solely on one source or one type of source, such as
relying on one author, only Internet sources, only periodicals, only journals,
or only books. Also, a research paper is
deficient if obvious contradictory points of view (to the thesis assertion) are
not addressed within the body of the paper.
The writer of a Freshman Composition II
research paper needs to cite from several authors, varying the content of the
types of sources to include some Internet web sites, some periodicals, some
journals, and some books. Interviews and
email correspondence with experts are appropriate and often impressive for both
the documented and the researched paper.
The length of the documented and researched paper will be directly tied
to the depth of coverage the writer provides for the subject. A documented paper can be anywhere from one
paragraph to several pages (including book length). Yes, some books are merely documented
writings that may represent an author’s values and preferences, not the
objective presentation of topics. A
researched topic will be hard pressed to be a minimum of two pages; it would
normally take a minimum of two pages to present several authors’ points of view
on a topic and to include a variety of source types, along with the writer
fully developing each point so that it fits within the writer’s thesis
assertion.
Often, the challenge of research writing
is that the writer forgets that the paper remains his or her assertion,
requiring that the writer retain control of the development of the paper
without compromising the integrity of the paper by placing a string of
quotations one after another without providing the context of how the quotations
have been included to support the original thoughts of the writer of the class
research paper.
Both the documented and research paper
require the students to understand documentation/citation terminology
(e.g., MLA documentation, literature review, peer-reviewed, annotated
bibliography, parenthetical documentation, and works cited entry); search
strategies (e.g., database references, web site searching, key word
searching, Boolean searching, and search engines); summarization skills
(e.g., restating a paper’s thesis and its main supporting points, summary,
paraphrase, and appropriate inclusion of direct quotations); evaluation
abilities (e.g., appropriate selection of web sites and reference
databases, along judging the quality, authority and currency of sources); and documentation
proficiency (e.g., properly citing sources within paragraphs, within the
works cited section, along with correctly formatting long quotations, charts,
or graphs).
One activity I use is to have my students write a letter about an issue in society to the president. They have to think of some concern they have that would be addressed by the president. They work on revising since they know that the letter is going to the president.
Following is a portion of the assignment.
You are to write a letter to President Obama. You need to share your concerns with the
president on some issue.
Following are the
specific requirements of the assignment:
Introduce your concern.
Provide the appropriate greeting, such as “Dear Mr.
President:”
Explain why the issue matters to you. This is a good time for you to identify how
the issue affects you personally.
Body paragraphs of 2-3 major points on your issue
Provide some background research that
demonstrates that you have looked beyond your personal experiences and are
aware of how the issue affects others.
Consider
the following types of information within your background:
Statistics to support your case or
perspective
Actions you are aware of from other
countries, states, cities, or organizations that are effective in addressing
the issue that concerns you
Significant quotations (with direct
quotations and summaries) from organizations, well known people, or experts on
the subject; keep in mind that quotations support your thoughts and should not
be presented without a clear explanation of how the quotations further develop
or support your already provided opinions.
Any interesting information that
better informs the reader of your concerns
Consider
the following resource locations (searching for a balanced set of resources
that are as objective as possible):
A government website related to your
issue
Community and political groups that
have made position statements on the issue
Library databases
College instructors or other
community leaders who can respond to brief interview questions on the issue
Online websites (making sure this is
not the only type of resource and that the website is credible—any person can
create a website within 5-10 minute)
Conclude the letter by reminding the reader of key aspects
of your issue and the desired response
Remind the reader of the 2-3 main points of your
issue.
Highlight one of the supporting points that you
have mentioned in the body of the letter that illustrates the significance of
your issue.
Request that the president respond to your
letter.
Conclude with a salutation such as “regards,”
“yours sincerely,” or “most appreciative”
Feel free to
review a few sample letters to politicians to give yourself an idea of how
others have corresponded:
Writing for Social Action has many cross curricular links. It involves languages, social studies, ICT, maths, science and indeed any other subject. In this pack, the main objectives are language learning (being an activity designed for the teaching of English), ICT and citizenship. However, other subjects, such as Mathematics and Science can also easily come into play.
Responses
In my composition course, I ask students to identify a social issue that is of concern to them. When they decide on this issue and come up with reasons for their concerns, I ask them to turn this concern into a Social Action Research Paper. The students enjoy this paper because it allows them to explore a subject of interest to them They also decide how they will respond to this issue after they have done more research on why it exists in society and reflected over possible ways of responding to the issue.
Below is an example of my assignment for the students.
This paper involves citing appropriate sources on a specific topic in order to demonstrate research skills in a 6-8 page paper. The student is expected to present a variety of researched sources (e.g., magazines, newspapers, journals, books, interviews, and encyclopedias). In regard to the number of cited sources for a paper, as a rule of thumb, a writer should work toward having the number of total cited sources equal to two different sources per page. Specifically, for a four-page paper, the writer should have a minimum of eight different sources for the Works Cited page. This does not mean that the writer needs a mandatory two sources per page, but it does mean that the sum total of cited sources should equal to at least a minimum of eight different sources for a four-page paper.
The Social Action Research paper (6-page minimum) needs to address some issue that is of social concern to the student. The student should present background to an issue, a solution for addressing the issue, along with discussing the student’s intended response to the issue after completing the research. Health, education, parenting, legislation, child care, politics, economics, race, gender, age, and technology tend to present social issues of interest for students to consider.
The below RUBRIC will be used for assessing the paper:
Checklist for Paper
Specific Task for the Assignment
Done
1. Student clearly identifies a specific issue of social concern
2. Address an issue of social concern
a. Must be of concern to the student
b. Must provide background to the issue
c. Address why issue should be of concern to others
d. Discuss the factors that have created the issue
e. Student should present a recommendation for addressing the issue
f. Student should present his or her personal response to the issue (after completing the research)
3. Student has added research in areas to make the paper more credible and objective
4. Formatting: MLA, essay form (title, thesis, topic sentences, introductions, conclusions)
5. Polished: error free of grammar rules, punctuation, and
Consider the following distinction between documented and researched essays for the purposes of this paper:
The difference in the documented and researched paper is that the researched paper must provide multiple sources (and types of sources) to support the thesis for the paper. While a documented paper may include multiple sources and types of sources, it does not have the emphasis on providing multiple supporting references that substantiate the significant points asserted by the thesis of a paper—a research paper must have the overwhelming support of multiple sources and variety of sources.
The research paper differs from the documented paper in that it provides a more objective perspective of multiple sides of topics and guides the reader (through cited evidence from multiple authors and sources) to a conclusion that represents critical, fallacy-free logic. Specifically, a research paper is deficient if it relies solely on one source or one type of source, such as relying on one author, only Internet sources, only periodicals, only journals, or only books. Also, a research paper is deficient if obvious contradictory points of view (to the thesis assertion) are not addressed within the body of the paper.
The writer of a Freshman Composition II research paper needs to cite from several authors, varying the content of the types of sources to include some Internet web sites, some periodicals, some journals, and some books. Interviews and email correspondence with experts are appropriate and often impressive for both the documented and the researched paper. The length of the documented and researched paper will be directly tied to the depth of coverage the writer provides for the subject. A documented paper can be anywhere from one paragraph to several pages (including book length). Yes, some books are merely documented writings that may represent an author’s values and preferences, not the objective presentation of topics. A researched topic will be hard pressed to be a minimum of two pages; it would normally take a minimum of two pages to present several authors’ points of view on a topic and to include a variety of source types, along with the writer fully developing each point so that it fits within the writer’s thesis assertion.
Often, the challenge of research writing is that the writer forgets that the paper remains his or her assertion, requiring that the writer retain control of the development of the paper without compromising the integrity of the paper by placing a string of quotations one after another without providing the context of how the quotations have been included to support the original thoughts of the writer of the class research paper.
Both the documented and research paper require the students to understand documentation/citation terminology (e.g., MLA documentation, literature review, peer-reviewed, annotated bibliography, parenthetical documentation, and works cited entry); search strategies (e.g., database references, web site searching, key word searching, Boolean searching, and search engines); summarization skills (e.g., restating a paper’s thesis and its main supporting points, summary, paraphrase, and appropriate inclusion of direct quotations); evaluation abilities (e.g., appropriate selection of web sites and reference databases, along judging the quality, authority and currency of sources); and documentation proficiency (e.g., properly citing sources within paragraphs, within the works cited section, along with correctly formatting long quotations, charts, or graphs).
One activity I use is to have my students write a letter about an issue in society to the president. They have to think of some concern they have that would be addressed by the president. They work on revising since they know that the letter is going to the president.
Following is a portion of the assignment.
You are to write a letter to President Obama. You need to share your concerns with the president on some issue.
Following are the specific requirements of the assignment:
Introduce your concern.
Body paragraphs of 2-3 major points on your issue
Conclude the letter by reminding the reader of key aspects of your issue and the desired response
Feel free to review a few sample letters to politicians to give yourself an idea of how others have corresponded:
Submit your letter to the following website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Writing for Social Action has many cross curricular links. It involves languages, social studies, ICT, maths, science and indeed any other subject. In this pack, the main objectives are language learning (being an activity designed for the teaching of English), ICT and citizenship. However, other subjects, such as Mathematics and Science can also easily come into play.
The following url provides six lesson plans about writing for social action: http://skola.gov.mt/ictsec/9projects/resources/w4socialAction/Writing4So...