Ethan+Tech

Summary:
In this article, Street and Stand argue for using the internet to provide “interesting and varied resources that can serve as the foundation for writing activities” (94). The authors argue that writing in the Social Studies can help boost students’ writing abilities, while reinforcing content knowledge. In this article, the authors provide various resources for content on the Holocaust and Leni Riefenstahl. These resources are for teachers and students alike, and come from many different sites: US Holocaust Memorial Museum, Discovery Channel, and PBS.

Reflection and Application:
The article is a bit misleading, not all the sources listed are for students’ content – many are teacher resources which may point to additional student resources. Many of the sites include lesson plans or professional development on teaching the Holocaust. The article does provide alternatives to reading passages that so often accompany writing prompts: video clips, posters, museum artifacts, etc. This can help to differentiate instruction and provides multiple presentation of content so learning doesn’t get stale.

 It seems that the authors left the “writing” part of this article to the teacher who’s reading their article, as they only include a throwaway sentence referring to “writing-to-learn” practices. In a classroom I would find many ways to implement their suggestions. DRISHing (Draw, Read, Interpret, Summarize, Hypothesize) //Triumph of the Will// or other forms of propaganda can provide the foundations for larger works, but are also great ways to absorb the content in general. Observing museum artifacts can help students make a tangible connection to the past, and inspire creative writing pieces or journal entries.

Street, Chris and Stand, Kristin. "Tech Talk for Social Studies Teachers Writing about Nazi Germany and Leni Riefenstahl: Using Technology to Access Information." //The Social Studies// (2008): 94-95.

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