In Strategies for Writing in the Social Studies Classroom, award-winning author and veteran educator Kathleen Kopp offers simple and practical writing strategies that any social studies teacher can integrate into every phase of the learning process. Writing is a valuable learning tool that can quite effectively--and easily--help students learn and understand social studies content. Teaching it, however, can be challenging for content-area teachers now under pressure from the Common Core Standards' refocused attention on reading and writing. With step-by-step directions, rubrics, student examples, templates, technology tips, and ideas for differentiation, Kopp goes beyond journals or reports to show how social studies teachers can use writing to develop critical-thinking skills, improve understanding of social studies concepts, assess students' progress, and hone skills in content-area writing. Her writing strategies support the Common Core Standards and, because the focus is on applying writing skills--and not teaching writing as an end in itself--social studies teachers can easily incorporate these strategies in any unit of study. This comprehensive resource makes it easy to incorporate writing in your social studies class today--and every day!

Kathleen Kopp is a teacher on special assignment at Forest Ridge Elementary in Citrus County, Florida. She has nearly 20 years of teaching experience for first through fifth grades and has written several professional books on content-area learning and technology. Her Learning Through Writing Series won a 2009 Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Educational Publishers and a 2010 Teachers' Choice Award for the Classroom.