This session focuses on utilizing the DBQ Project to enhance student comprehension and historical writing skills. It covers effective classroom strategies, including the K.E.Y. strategy, AVID annotation techniques, and cooperative learning structures to help students identify a document’s main idea, follow a structured learning path, and articulate how evidence from documents supports their essays. Participants will engage in hands-on practice with these strategies while working through sample documents and all six steps of the DBQ process. Additionally, the session focuses on developing students' writing skills by guiding them in crafting clear thesis statements rooted in the essential question, organizing coherent body paragraphs, and constructing focused topic sentences. It emphasizes that while not every DBQ assignment requires a five-paragraph essay, each should conclude with a synthesis piece that thoughtfully connects to the DBQ’s essential question.
