Getting Your Writing
Done In The Other
Content Classes
AKA: Writing CER in the Not
Language Arts Class
Presented by:
Kori Rogalinski
6th grade Science
Newburg MS
All About Me
Middle School Science Teacher 16+ years
 Return Peace Corps Volunteer- Bohol,
Philippines (3 years)
 Cat Lover- 4 cats and a beagle who thinks he is
a cat
 JCPSForward member, EdCamp attendee (ask
me about events coming up)

A Little Game to Start- 4 Corners
Which school district are you from? Oldham, Jefferson, Shelby,
or other
2. Which subject do you teach? Math, Science, Social Studies,
Humanities
3. I have attend the TTL conference.. first time, +1 years, 2-3 years,
4-5 years
4. I enjoy going to conferences on my summer break?
5. I like interactive PD (not sit and get)?
6. The new JCPS super will be a great change?
7. Writing is difficult to incorporate in my class?
8. I think using the CER process will be difficult?
1.
If We Aren’t Language Arts- Why Do We Have To
Write in Our Classes?
• Writing shows what you know about the subject.
• Writing allows ALL STUDENTS a voice and a chance to
think critically about your subject matter.
• Writing is something that can be integrated into any
content. There are many different ways to fit it in.
• It is a chance for students to continue to practice good
writing skills, most students are so use to abbreviating
through various social media.
• Only by practicing the thinking and writing skills in a
particular class will students begin to communicate
effectively within that class and build their knowledge.
What are some ways to integrate writing in Science?
R.A.F.T. –It stands for the Role, Audience, Format, and Topic. (example- water
drop going through the water cycle)
Ticket-out-the-Door (exit slips)
3-2-1 (3 things you learned, 2 things you would like to know, 1 thing you
would share with family
Graffiti Cards- taking vocabulary words & drawing a picture to represent,
adding definition/sentence, writing the word in crazy design
Science Picture of the Day- Provide a real-life picture, and they have to list
all the things they observe in it. Then they list any questions they have and
things they infer. Finally, they list any science they see.
Twitter/Snapchat/Facebook a summary of the learning- limit how much they
can say based on the media format they use
Say something- Using 7 prompts during reading as a way to annotate a
reading
What other strategies can be used in Science?
What are some ways to integrate writing in Math?
Think- Pair- Share: Ask an open ended question that students can solve
multiple ways and have partners share how they solved it.
Math journals/INB: giving real world examples of math and have students
journal (see anchor chart)
Using Poetry: creating poems explaining a math concept
2 Truths & a Lie: Have students come up with 2 truths and a lie about a
problem or graph, pass out sticky notes and try to find them
Justify your answer: see anchor chart
Reflection spinner: see spinner
Word problem break down: see picture
Gallery Walks: Having different concepts to show what they know
What other strategies can be used in Math?
What are some ways to integrate writing in Social Studies?
Word Bank Writing: Give students a list of vocabulary and they must write a
statement (paragraph) that uses the words correctly to show they know
the meanings.
Choice boards: using different writing activities
Quote of the week: Using quotes to get students to write about content
(see template).
Anchor charts: Have students create charts with pictures and content
Annotating: see chart
Virtual Field Trips: writing about their experience on the trip (a field report)
Top Ten: coming up with a list of top 10s for the concept and justifying it
History Detective: see template – looking at a specific event
GRAPES of history: see template – looking at a specific civilization
What other strategies can be used in Social Studies?
Now Break off- 7 minutes
As content areas discuss
with each other ideas
that you have used in
your class to incorporate
writing.
 If you are not one of the
three content areas, go
to a group that interest
you and help that group
develop ideas

Science
• Discuss
• Write down on chart paper ideas
Math
• Discuss
• Write down on chart paper ideas
Social Studies
• Discuss
• Write down on chart paper ideas
Great Resource to Have

https://goo.gl/DdzVTW - to purchase from amazon
Information from this
point on is coming from
Supporting Grade 5-8
Students in Constructing
Explanations in Science:
The Claim, Evidence,
and Reasoning
Framework for Talk and
Writing by Katherine L.
McNeill and Joseph S.
Krajcik
Let’s get the ball rolling…..
Discuss with a partner the
following questions:
1. Do you think students would
benefit from constructing
explanations, no matter the
content? Why or why not?
2. Think about a past time when
you have engaged students
in constructing an
explanation in writing or talk.
What challenges did they
have? What challenges did
you have in incorporating
explanation writing or talk into
your class?
First step to explaining is coming up with
a question to answer
Think about your first
topic of the year. What
questions can you and
your students come up
with that can be
investigated through
multiple sources?
Notice how these questions are open
ended with no straight yes or no
answer?
6th Grade Science Example
Unit: Force and Motion (FOSS)
1st Topic: Motion and Speed/Acceleration
Questions to explore:
• How do you know something moved?
• How fast is the fastest thing on Earth?
Why is it so fast?
• Why do things keep moving in a car,
even after you’ve stopped?
• Why do roller coasters give us a thrill?
• What does it take to stop an object from
moving?
• What things can effect the air trolleys to
stop or keep going?
Partner with another of the same content and come up with
some questions for your first topic (7 mins)
Take that question and run with it….
Write your question down
on the form and answer
your question as one of
your students would. (6
mins)
Who would like to share?
Listen carefully, what’s
there? What’s not there
that should be?
So what is the 3 biggest issues for students
in writing explanations?
McNeill and Krajcik (2007) found these 3 biggest
challenges:
1. Students have a hard time using appropriate
and sufficient evidence
2. Providing reasoning for why their evidence
supports their claim
3. And they struggle with considering alternative
explanations and providing rebuttals.
Let’s consider these individually before moving on to developing their claim-
1. Students have a hard time using
appropriate and sufficient evidence
In using evidence, students tend to rely on
personal experiences or opinions instead of
the text information or data collected.
 It’s important not to discount these
experiences but it’s important to know
when to use them.
 Sometimes students do not provide
enough evidence, they need to ask do I
have enough to support my claim. In
science we say at least 3 trials to validate
the data, why not have them write with at
least 2 pieces of evidence and work up to
3 pieces as the year goes?

2. Providing reasoning for why
their evidence supports their
claim
This is the hardest part for students to
develop
 When there is not enough evidence,
then students struggle with the reason
why the evidence supports the claim
 Have students ask questions like: Why
does my evidence support my claim?
What concept in my subject links my
evidence to my claim? What can you
include in your reasoning that explains
your claim (diagrams, models, etc.)?

3. And they struggle with considering alternative
explanations and providing rebuttals.
This is something that my 6th graders
touch on at the end of the year.
 Just like reasoning students have a
hard time finding a different answer,
even adults struggle with this
sometimes.
 Students might consider: What might
be another explanation to this
question? What other evidence would
I need?
 When writing rebuttals, students might
ask: Is there evidence or reasoning
that suggests the alternative isn’t right
or a strong postion?

Framework for constructing explanations
CER Model (McNeill & Krajcik, 2012)
Evidence
Rebuttal
Claim 1
Evidence
&
Not Claim 2 because
Reasoning
Reasoning
Watch video clip 2.1- 10 minutes
Video Discussion (10 mins)
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How did Ms. Nelson intro a claim? In what way would
you intro claims?
How would you make sure that students answered the
claim and not another question?
How does Ms. Nelson intro evidence to her students? In
what way would you intro evidence?
How would you make sure that students provided
enough evidence to support their claim?
How does Ms. Nelson intro reasoning to her students? In
what way would you intro reasoning?
How would you make sure that students provide an
appropriate reasoning passage?
What ways would you differentiate this process for your
SPED, ELL, GATE students?
Framework Variations to try…..
Simple
Variation #1 Claim, Evidence, Reasoning
Variation #2 Claim, Evidence (Appropriate, Sufficient), Reasoning
Variation #3 Claim, Evidence (Appropriate, Sufficient), Reasoning (Multiple Components)
Complex
Variation #4 Claim, Evidence (Appropriate, Sufficient), Reasoning (Multiple Components),
Rebuttal
Claim: a statement that answers the question
Evidence: data that supports the claim, needs to be appropriate, needs to be sufficient
Reasoning: a justification for why the evidence supports the claim using subject’s principles,
each piece of evidence may have a different justification for why it supports the claim
Rebuttal: describes the alternative explanations, and provides counter evidence and
reasoning for why the alternative explanation is not appropriate
How to teach CER to support students
Discuss Framework- Intro the framework & define CER
Connect to Everyday Examples- give examples of
questions
Provide Rationale- describe why you should use CER (in
your content area)
Model & Critique Examples- provide examples of good
and bad CERs
Provide feedback- give feedback using content CER rubric
Peer Feedback- have partners work together to critique
video clip 4.5- discussing rational
What do you think about the teaching
strategies…..
1.Which strategy could you incorporate into your
class most easily? Why? How can you use this
strategy?
2. Which strategy could be the most challenging
in your class? Why?
3. What examples would you use to help students
understand CER?
Time to work to create your first CER….
Using the Template….
Start with finding something to ask a
question about.
Develop an open ended question.
Make sure it is connected to content
you are assessing.
Places to find resources for questions….
http://www.scijourner.org/ - articles written by teens on science/health topics
https://newsela.com/ - nonfiction articles based on subject
https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/ - articles on science and health, national
https://www.tweentribune.com – national and international articles
http://ed.ted.com/ - TEDed site with videos to spark learning
http://www.readworks.org/ - articles on all topics
What other sources do you use?
Ready to Grade Them….
Creating a rubric based on your content
standards
 Using a generic writing rubric
 Using a class generated rubric
 Using this rubric

Bring me cupcakes not cookies
Recently came across a blog by Chris Kesler,
a Science teacher from Texas, about the
quality of the work. He described a lesson
where he had students describe their favorite
cupcake looked like, then he had them apply
the ideas to their work.
Read the post here:
http://www.keslerscience.com/bring-mecupcakes-not-cookies-teaching-yourstudents-to-turn-in-high-quality-work/
Making CER a part of your class
culture….
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Using accountable talk (sentence starters to help
at the beginning of the year)
Make it a class discussion where students are
required to provide evidence, asking others in the
class their evidence, and justify their claim with
reasoning
By doing this on an ongoing basis throughout the
year you begin to show students that your content
is not just memorizing facts, but a practice that
includes its own ways of talking and writing.
Using CER in class discussions as well can build up
their strengths in writing.
MAKE IT A NORM IN YOUR CLASS TO USE CER
video clip 7.1 – Developing Class Culture