Why do social studies teachers need to teach literacy skills?

This week we had 14 JCCS social studies teachers come together to look at how to teach integrated literacy in their content area. With No Child Left Behind, we found that social studies was in fact left behind. With the Common Core State Standards, social studies is now front and center alongside the literacy standards.

Research shows that a majority of students struggle with evidence based argumentative writing and historical thinking. In a 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress test, "88% of 12th graders could not 'communicate reasoned interpretations of past events, using historical evidence effectively to support their positions'" (National Center for Education Statistics). Our JCCS Instructional Focus emphasizes the importance of students being able demonstrate deep understanding by making and defending a claim with evidence. Focusing on argumentative writing and historical thinking aligns perfectly with both the research and our instructional focus.

How do we teach argumentative writing in the social studies classroom? Just like in English Language Arts, we have to intentionally teach the writing process to students -- prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Students benefit from mini lessons on this with the teacher modeling how it's done, guiding students in practicing it, and then releasing the work to students to work independently. Graphic organizers help students to think through their essays. With shorter term students, you may want to use the They Say, I Say Template.

So what is meant by historical thinking? A great resource on this can be found at Stanford History Education Group and in particular the Historical Thinking Chart that highlights the importance of sourcing, contextualization, close reading, and corroboration. Additionally, this website includes some fun, interactive activities to introduce students to historical thinking as well as a lot of lesson plans that look at history from an inquiry stance.

If you missed it, you can access the materials from our resource links.