The PEA Strategy: One Teacher's Approach to Integrating Writing in the Social Studies Classroom
With the adoption of the Common Core State Standards many social studies teachers are faced with the task of very intentionally integrating writing instruction into their content curriculum. While this task may be daunting, there are research-based instructional frameworks to help teachers implement strategies to support student writing. In this manuscript the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD), a research-based instructional framework for teaching writing strategies, is described as a helpful framework for designing writing curricula in the social studies classroom. The following manuscript includes a description of one teacher's experience using SRSD to design and implement a strategy (the PEA Strategy) to support argument-based writing in the context of a social studies classroom. The PEA strategy as well as the six stages of SRSD are defined and supported with examples from the teacher's integrated writing curriculum. Suggestions for implementation of SRSD are also provided.