Advocacy Writing
Students demonstrate the ability to speak/write/think about real-world problems.
Explicit Teaching
Oracy Lessons
In order for students to be able to speak about real-world problems, they must know how to have a discussion and the different roles people take in a conversation or discussion. Students must possess strong orator skills to be able to express their opinions on real-world issues and to be able to use their voice and feel confident that their voice has value. Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday students engage in an oracy lesson where they learn the roles to hold in a discussion and social cues to know how to deliver a lesson and respond to another person's feelings. These lessons take place in a community meeting in the morning. Students are taught the skills, I model the skill, then with a partner students are able to practice the skill of that lesson.
The lesson below teaches students the roles they can take in a discussion and ways to use their voice to show value and change.
Oracy Lessons
In order for students to be able to speak about real-world problems, they must know how to have a discussion and the different roles people take in a conversation or discussion. Students must possess strong orator skills to be able to express their opinions on real-world issues and to be able to use their voice and feel confident that their voice has value. Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday students engage in an oracy lesson where they learn the roles to hold in a discussion and social cues to know how to deliver a lesson and respond to another person's feelings. These lessons take place in a community meeting in the morning. Students are taught the skills, I model the skill, then with a partner students are able to practice the skill of that lesson.
The lesson below teaches students the roles they can take in a discussion and ways to use their voice to show value and change.
In addition to the oracy lessons, I also keep anchor charts in my room for students to references during discussions for turn taking and to be an advocate in the discussion.
Below is an anchor chart my students reference regularly during discussions.
Below is an anchor chart my students reference regularly during discussions.
Connection to Reading Comprehension while citing evidence.
Many discussions in the classroom follow a reading comprehension lesson and connect to real-world issues. This has been coming to life a lot in my classroom especially lately while we have been learning about maps, geography, and studying biographies of historical figures. Students have had an increased awareness of their special place on Earth how to take care of our world and community, which is developmentally appropriate to Social Studies Kindergarten standards. Students are learning their place on Earth and how historical figures have shaped our society as we know it today and have been advocates for change or social injustices. I have noticed students using new vocabulary from texts to express themselves and their aspirations. For example, student say they want to be an inspiration to others, they want to be helpful like Annie was for Helen Keller, they want to be an explorer like Mae Jemison, or they want to fight for equality like Susan B. Anthony. Students are taking what they have learned and are able to think about what they want to do or be in order to make an impactful change in society and their future, showing they are citing evidence from the reading comprehension lessons to be advocates for themselves and others.
Below are images of student Reading Comprehension work explaining what students would want to be most known for if they were a historical figure.
Many discussions in the classroom follow a reading comprehension lesson and connect to real-world issues. This has been coming to life a lot in my classroom especially lately while we have been learning about maps, geography, and studying biographies of historical figures. Students have had an increased awareness of their special place on Earth how to take care of our world and community, which is developmentally appropriate to Social Studies Kindergarten standards. Students are learning their place on Earth and how historical figures have shaped our society as we know it today and have been advocates for change or social injustices. I have noticed students using new vocabulary from texts to express themselves and their aspirations. For example, student say they want to be an inspiration to others, they want to be helpful like Annie was for Helen Keller, they want to be an explorer like Mae Jemison, or they want to fight for equality like Susan B. Anthony. Students are taking what they have learned and are able to think about what they want to do or be in order to make an impactful change in society and their future, showing they are citing evidence from the reading comprehension lessons to be advocates for themselves and others.
Below are images of student Reading Comprehension work explaining what students would want to be most known for if they were a historical figure.
Students Speaking and Writing
Class Discussions and Writing
Following reading comprehension, we have a discussion based on a focus question that is connected to the text but also about the real-world, this question typically is the same question students will write about. The discussion gives students an opportunity to think about their writing response and demonstrate their oracy skills while discussing a real-world topic or issue. One of the most memorable discussion and writing responses took place after reading Side by Side by Monica Brown. This text is about the social-justice fight from Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta for farm workers to have equal pay and working conditions. Many students were able to resonate with the text because many of their family members are farm workers and they may have had experience visiting a farm or seeing differences from Mexico and America. At the end of this read aloud, students engaged in a discussion with the focus question being "What is something you could do to make our world a better place? (Like Dolores and Cesar) Why is that important?" Students were very quick to engage in a discussion with a breadth of detail and social-justice and environmental issues they have identified even as a five-year-old.
Below is the text and annotations I made as a part of the lesson plan for the read aloud. The focus of the lesson was for students to be able to identify character traits and what made these historical figures influential and advocates for change.
Class Discussions and Writing
Following reading comprehension, we have a discussion based on a focus question that is connected to the text but also about the real-world, this question typically is the same question students will write about. The discussion gives students an opportunity to think about their writing response and demonstrate their oracy skills while discussing a real-world topic or issue. One of the most memorable discussion and writing responses took place after reading Side by Side by Monica Brown. This text is about the social-justice fight from Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta for farm workers to have equal pay and working conditions. Many students were able to resonate with the text because many of their family members are farm workers and they may have had experience visiting a farm or seeing differences from Mexico and America. At the end of this read aloud, students engaged in a discussion with the focus question being "What is something you could do to make our world a better place? (Like Dolores and Cesar) Why is that important?" Students were very quick to engage in a discussion with a breadth of detail and social-justice and environmental issues they have identified even as a five-year-old.
Below is the text and annotations I made as a part of the lesson plan for the read aloud. The focus of the lesson was for students to be able to identify character traits and what made these historical figures influential and advocates for change.
The image below shows students engaging in a turn and talk to discuss the focus question in preparation for their writing. The question was, "What is something you could do to make our world a better place? Why is that important?"
![Picture](/uploads/1/1/2/2/112223317/addisc1_orig.png)
The focus question is always written on the board for students to reference. Class disucssions begin with a turn and talk then we bring it back to a whole group discussion where students use their oracy skills and engage in "college talk" where students do not raise their hand to speak. Instead, they rely on social cues to know when to start sharing. I act as a facilitator in this discussion and students are doing the talking.
After the whole group discussion, students are released to their desk where they engage in the writing portion of the lesson. Students are writing about what they would want to do to make the world a better place and why. This writing is showing students are able to think and write about real-world problems and explain why they are problems and what they could do to potentially solve the problem. I thought many of my students had exemplar responses at a developmentally appropriate level. Below are images of student writing. Click on the images to make them full view and hover over for caption.
Conclusion
Through oracy, reading comprehension, and writing my students have knowledge of injustices in the world and can form opinions about it. Students have learned to use their voice through oracy and taking on a variety of roles in a discussion. I have loved seeing my students' awareness of the world around them and already being advocates for change in their future.
Through oracy, reading comprehension, and writing my students have knowledge of injustices in the world and can form opinions about it. Students have learned to use their voice through oracy and taking on a variety of roles in a discussion. I have loved seeing my students' awareness of the world around them and already being advocates for change in their future.