OER Project Quill Blog
OER PROJECT AND QUILL’S EVIDENCE FOR READING TOOL OER Project has integrated Quill’s Evidence for Reading tool into its world history curriculum by embedding evidence-based writing practice directly into the study of historical topics and primary sources.How the Integration Works • Relevant World-History Texts: Quill’s Reading for Evidence activities feature nonfiction passages on world history topics, for example, “How Did British Women Workers Fight for Their Rights in the 19th Century?” These texts mirror major units and guiding questions in OER Project’s World History 1200 course but are applied throughout all OER Project: World History versions (Origins, 1750, and AP®), making integration seamless for teachers and students. The text was written to align with specific OER Project articles, and was reviewed by OER Project editors. • Instructional Sequence: After reading a passage aligned with the curriculum, students use Quill’s tool to highlight evidence and respond to open-ended prompts. The tool encourages using connective words such as because, but, and so to structure their evidence-based responses—mirroring OER Project’s emphasis on historical claim-building and explanation.• AI-Powered Feedback: Students receive detailed, individualized feedback from Quill’s AI Feedback Bot. This feedback guides them to revise their evidence, include more-precise citations from the text, and make more-logical historical arguments. The feedback is highly specific to both the historical content and students’ writing, closely simulating one-to-one teacher guidance.• Revision Cycles: The integration of Evidence for Reading supports OER Project’s focus on revision and critical historical thinking. Students can revise their responses up to five times, reflecting OER Project’s process-driven approach to building robust historical arguments through evidence and analysis.• Reporting for Teachers: Both students and teachers receive reports on performance and progress, supporting formative assessment and targeted support for reading and historical reasoning.How This Aligns with OER Project’s Pedagogy• Historical Thinking with Evidence: OER Project centers much of its learning on evaluating sources, supporting claims, and reasoning with evidence. Quill’s tool operationalizes this by having students repeatedly cite, judge, and refine evidence drawn from historical texts.• Skills Transfer: The focus on open-ended responses (rather than multiple choice) encourages historical literacy and supports transfer of skills from Quill’s tool into broader world history writing tasks and projects.• AI Literacy and Feedback: The process also introduces students to constructive uses of AI in academic work—mirroring the curriculum’s broader commitment to integrating critical, evidence-driven inquiry with digital literacy.By pairing Quill’s AI-powered tool with OER Project: World History curricula topics and lessons, OER Project provides students meaningful, scaffolded opportunities to practice and strengthen their ability to read for evidence and write with historical precision—all while leveraging technology that personalizes feedback and deepens student learning.Each activity takes about 15 to 20 minutes to complete on the Quill platform.
2OER Project and Quill’s Evidence for Reading ToolLook for These Activities HereUnitOrigins1200175011.7: “How Did Haiti Become the First Independent Black Republic?”(Americas in 1750)22.5 “How Did Pirates Disrupt Sea Routes in East Asia?”(Archipelago of Trade)2.4: “Why Did Revolutions Erupt Throughout the Atlantic World?”(The Atlantic Revolutions)33.5: “How Did Horses Reshape Indigenous Americans’ Ways of Life?”(The Columbian Exchange)3.4: “Why Did the Russian Empire Want to Expand its Settlements in Siberia?”(Industrialization and Migration)44.3: “Why Did Revolutions Erupt Throughout the Atlantic World?”(The Atlantic Revolutions)4.3: “How Did British Women Workers Fight for Their Rights in the 19th Century?”(Responses to Industrialization)55.6: “How Did Pirates Disrupt Sea Routes in East Asia?”(Archipelago of Trade)5.3: “Why Did the Russian Empire Want to Expand its Settlements in Siberia?”(Industrialization and Migration)5.4: “Why Did French Colonial Leaders Try to Recreate Paris in Vietnam?”(Responses to Industrial Imperialism)66.8: “How Did Horses Reshape Indigenous Americans’ Ways of Life?”(The Columbian Exchange)6.4: “Why Did French Colonial Leaders Try to Recreate Paris in Vietnam?”(Responses to Industrial Imperialism)6.3 “Why Did So Many Underage Soldiers Fight in Great Britain’s Army?”(World War I: A Total War?)77.7: “Why Did Industrial Workers March on the Russian Imperial Palace?”(Rise of the Proletariat)7.3 “Why Did So Many Underage Soldiers Fight in Great Britain’s Army?”(World War I: A Total War?)7.4: “How Did the Nazi Party Use the Berlin Olympics as Propaganda?”(Fascism in Germany)88.5: “How Did the Nazi Party Use the Berlin Olympics as Propaganda?”(Fascism in Germany)8.7: “How Did Black South African Students Protest Apartheid?”(Apartheid)8.2: “Why Did the USSR Race to Send a Woman to Space?”(Arms Race, Space Race)You can find even more OER Project-aligned Quill Evidence for Reading activities on the Quill website.