Vignette 7.3. Reading, Analyzing, and Discussing
Complex Texts in American Literature
Integrated ELA/Literacy, ELD, and History in Grade Eleven (cont.)five minutes to respond to a writing prompt. The quick write is not intended as a test of their
learning, but rather as an opportunity for students to synthesize the ideas discussed that day.
The quick write also provides Ms. Robertson with valuable feedback she can use to adjust
instruction in subsequent lessons.Quick Write:
Based on the text we read today, what were the author’s perspective and attitudes
about the experiences of the Native Americans during this period of history? Use
terms from today’s reading and your conversations, as well as at least one example
from the text to support your ideas.Ms. Robertson briefly reviews her students’ written responses as they are writing
and at the end of class, and she quickly records a few notes in her journal to remind
herself of specific areas she will want to focus on in future lessons. Mostly, she focuses on
students’ understandings of the ideas in the text they read that day while also noting any
misunderstandings she will need to rectify. She is also interested to see whether students are
taking up the language resources (e.g., vocabulary, complex sentences, and use of long noun
phrases) modeled in the complex texts students are reading and analyzing.
Next Steps
One thing Ms. Robertson wants students to be able to do is monitor their own thinking and
learning and evaluate their own writing. At the beginning of class the next day, she has students
swap their quick writes and guides them to review the quick-write prompts. Ms Robertson then
asks students to share examples from the writing they have in front of them that they think
respond effectively to the prompt. As they offer examples, she writes down what they share
using the document camera. Next, she asks students to examine their own papers, and based
on what they have just discussed, evaluate how effectively they think they responded to the
prompt. She has found that when students reflect on their own writing in this manner, they gain
valuable ideas about what to include next time they write.
As the unit progresses, students will read other excerpts from Bury My Heart at Wounded
Knee. They will also select a novel to read and analyze in small book groups, examining
perspectives presented in the novels and relating them to the social and political changes
occurring during the Civil Rights Movement. The students will also read and analyze other text
types, including short essays and stories, poetry, and speeches. At the end of the unit, each
student will write an argument that includes evidence from the texts they read and media they
viewed to support their assertions, about the historians’ responsibilities to depict history from
multiple perspectives.
At their next collaborative planning session, Ms. Robertson and her colleagues discuss how
the interdisciplinary unit has been going. The teachers examine a few of the writing samples
from each of their classes in order to determine where they should focus more attention on
content understandings, disciplinary literacy, and language development. Because the teachers
have their students write daily, analyzing each piece of student writing in depth is not plausible,
which is why looking at student writing on the spot during class and briefly during collaborative
planning sessions is so valuable. The on-the-spot observations combined with examining802 | Chapter 7 Grades 11 and 12