Writing Across the Curriculum: HistoryFix
learning to write and writing to learn in social studies and history class
Welcome to HistoryFix! Welcome to WritingFix's very first "sister site." HistoryFix became a part of the WritingFix family in 2007 and has been growing ever since. This webpage is used in the Northern Nevada Writing Project's Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) workshops for teachers, and it is designed to inspire writing about social studies in the classroom. The lessons you see on this page are all inspired by quality "mentor texts," which are published books and/or primary sources that are used to inspire ideas from writers. You can check out the NNWP's Fall and Spring inservice schedules on-line.
Our W.A.C. workshops' driving essential question: How can we deepen student thinking in all content areas through meaningful and authentic writing assignments?
Taking our W.A.C. workshop? Here is the template to use, if you are creating a HistoryFix lesson as your final project for class.
 Meet our NNWP Consultant who inspired this page. Hello, my name is Denise Boswell, and my own experience in traditional social studies classrooms had me memorizing and reciting dates and facts. Memorizing dates has never been a strength of mine; therefore, I was not a fan of the subject. Through my recent experience with the Northern Nevada Writing Project and the Teaching American History Project, social studies has become a passion of mine and my students.
I have found the importance of bringing history alive in my classroom by engaging my students through investigation, research, literature, and writing. Literacy has become the foundation on which I teach the social studies standards. Teaching students to write to learn is probably the most important skill we can give our students once they have become readers. We must write to share our thoughts and ideas, and this is something a multiple choice, true-false, and matching assessment cannot do. If you want a true assessment of your student’s learning, your students must write!
HistoryFix is a website that shares rich lessons created by Washoe County teachers where Social Studies is taught through mentor texts, primary source documents, and writing. All lessons are meant to be adapted to whatever level your students are working. Inspiring students to be inquisitive learners and creative writers is the goal of HistoryFix. We are currently asking for student samples for each lesson from Elementary, Middle, and High School students.
Join our HistoryFix Family! Propose your own lesson to be posted at WritingFix! Below are our two templates for picture book-inspired lessons. Here is the template that teachers may use when submitting lessons for consideration. If we end up using your lesson at WritingFix, we will send you any two of the NNWP's Print Resources as our way of saying thank-you for sharing your ideas with the thousands of teachers who use this website. Lessons can be sent to webmaster@writingfix.com.
Denise's Four Lessons that Started HistoryFix
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 Spiritual Waters
Mentor text: Washoe Seasons of Life: A Native American Story by Karen Wallis, Diane Domiteaux, and Lea Saling
Students write...an I used to be...but now I am poem in the voice of Lake Tahoe. |
 Civil Rights Warriors
Mentor texts: The Story Of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles & The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson
Students write... trading cards, creating a class deck of cards that can be used over and over again.
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 I Have a Dream
Mentor text: We Dream Of A World... by various authors
Students write... a diamante (diamond) poem that captures the spirit of some element from the civil rights movement. |
 Moving West
Mentor text: Covered Wagons, Bumpy Trails by Verla Kay
Students write... a concept poem about moving west. |
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R.A.F.T. Writing Assignments & Prompts for History or Social Studies Class |
Building a R.A.F.T. prompt for history class?
Click here for our social studies R.A.F.T. builder. 
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Unfamiliar with RAFT prompts?
Click here to learn about R.A.F.T.s at WritingFix.  |
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Picture Book Mentor Texts in Social Studies & History Class |
Meet HistoryFix Contributor, Christy Hodge |
A mentor text is a published piece of writing that can be used during instruction to inspire students to write something original.
As part of our Northern Nevada Writing Across the Curriculum teacher workshops, all participants propose an idea for a lesson they believe should be posted at WritingFix. When teachers in our classes propose ideas inspired by HistoryFix and favorite picture books, we post the very best of those ideas in the space below.
We also accept lesson proposals from teachers outside of Northern Nevada. If you're inspired to send in a lesson inspired by HistoryFix, don't hesitate to contact us at webmaster@writingfix.com. Teachers who share lessons receive a complimentary copy of one of the NNWP's excellent print publications as our way of saying thanks for giving back to our site!
Even more picture book lessons can be found at WritingFix by clicking here.
Pompeii, I See
Mentor text: I Was There: The Buried City of Pompeii by Shelly Tanaka
Students write: An I See... Poem
Lesson from: Janet Lundy, Nevada teacher |
Nevada, A to Z
Mentor text: S Is For Silver: A Nevada Alphabet by Eleanor Coerr
Students write: Students will contribute to a class A to Z book about their home state.
Lesson from: Kristin Setty, Nevada teacher |
American Flag History
Mentor text: America : A Patriotic Primer by Lynne Cheney
Students write: Trading cards about American symbols.
Lesson from: Paula Larson, Nevada teacher |
Primary Source Picture Books
Mentor text: My Tour Of Europe: By Teddy Roosevelt, Age 10 by Ellen Jackson
Students write: An illustrated picture book based on a primary source document.
Lesson from: Corbett Harrison, Nevada teacher |
Who Doesn't Want to be a Millionaire
Mentor text: You Wouldn't Want to be a Roman Gladiator by John Malam
Students write: A series of questions for a wacky game show.
Lesson from: Rob Stone, Nevada teacher |
Now & Then
Mentor text: Now & Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin by Gene Barretta
Students write: Two paragraphs about a comparison & contrast topic
Lesson from: Lisa Larson, Nevada teacher
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Beyond the Basic Biography Report
Mentor Text: A. Lincoln and Me by Louise Borden
Students write: A five-part report on a president, each part inspired by a famous quotation from the president they have researched.
Lesson from: Christy Aker-Minetto, Nevada teacher |
The Presidential Quotation Report
Mentor text: Theodore by Frank Keating
Students write: A five-part report on a president, each part inspired by a famous quotation from the president they have researched.
Lesson from: Corbett Harrison, Nevada teacher |
Selling our Nation's Symbols on ebay!
Mentor Text: O, Say Can You See? by Janet Keenan
Students write: An ebay advertisement of "for sale" sign for a researched national symbol or landmark.
Lesson from: Kristen Conway, Nevada teacher |
Do you have a chapter or picture book "mentor text" you use during history or social studies? A mentor text that would inspire student writing? Propose an original idea for lesson for HistoryFix and we will send you one of the NNWP's Print Publications if we post it here. Click here for the proposal form. |
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 Christy Hodge is an exceptional teacher who has taught both elementary and middle school in Northern Nevada. We first met Christy when she took our Chapter Book Excerpts as Mentor Text inservice back in 2006. Her lesson inspired by Elvira Woodruff's George Washington's Socks (see link below) demonstrated her love of social studies curriculum. When HistoryFix launched in 2007, Christy began submitting lessons on her favorite social studies-inspired picture books.
Below, you can access all nine of Christy's lessons by clicking on the lesson's titles or on the picture of the book covers.
Gotta Go Back in Time
Mentor text: George Washington's Socks by Elvira Woodruff
Students write: A story about traveling to a historical period. |
The Preamble: More than an Intro
Mentor text: We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States by David Catrow
Students write: A found poem. |
You Decide:
Roanoke
Mentor text: Roanoke: The Lost Colony--An Unsolved Mystery from History by Elisabet Yolen Stemple
Students write: A thoughtful theory.
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Perilous Journeys: My Experience
Mentor text: The Perilous Journey of the Donner Party by Marian Calabro
Students write: A nine-entry journal in the voice of a Donner Party survivor. |
Riding the Train of States
Mentor text: The Train of States by Peter Sis
Students write: A class book that celebrates the United States of America. |
Lady Liberty: A Symbol of America
Mentor text: Lady Liberty: A Biography by Doreen Rappaport and Matt Tavares
Students write: An explanation of what American symbols mean to them.
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The American Revolution: Heroes
Mentor text: Heroes of the Revolution by David A. Adler
Students write: A foldable book about a heroes of the American Revolution. |
Two Sides of the American Revolution
Mentor text: George vs. George: The Revolutionary War as Seen by Both Sides by Rosalyn Schanzer
Students write: An evaluation of historical leaders. |
The Drinking Gourd
Mentor text: Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter
Students write: An explanation of what American symbols mean to them.
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Chapter Book Mentor Texts in Social Studies & History Class |
A mentor text is a published piece of writing that can be used during instruction to inspire students to write something original.
As part of our Northern Nevada Writing Across the Curriculum teacher workshops, all participants propose an idea for a lesson they believe should be posted at WritingFix. When teachers in our classes propose ideas inspired by HistoryFix and favorite chapter books, we post the very best of those ideas in the space below.
We also accept lesson proposals from teachers outside of Northern Nevada. If you're inspired to send in a lesson inspired by HistoryFix, don't hesitate to contact us at webmaster@writingfix.com. Teachers who share lessons receive a complimentary copy of one of the NNWP's excellent print publications as our way of saying thanks for giving back to our site!
Even more chapter book lessons can be found at WritingFix by clicking here.
Giving Credit Where Credit Might Be Due
Mentor text: Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin by His Good Mouse Amos by Robert Lawson
Students write: A creative story inspired by research.
Lesson from: Dayna Ayers, Nevada teacher
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Historical
Journal Entries
Mentor text: Pedro's Journal: A Journey with Christopher Columbus by Pam Conrad
Students write: A historically-researched, fictional journal entry.
Lesson from: Dayna Ayers, Nevada teacher
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Proposing a Lesson for HistoryFix
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Join our HistoryFix Family! Propose your own lesson to be posted at WritingFix! Below are our two templates for picture book-inspired lessons. Here is the template that teachers may use when submitting lessons for consideration. If we end up using your lesson at WritingFix, we will send you any two of the NNWP's Print Resources as our way of saying thank-you for sharing your ideas with the thousands of teachers who use this website. Lessons can be sent to webmaster@writingfix.com.
Proposal Form for a HistoryFix Lesson
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