Teaching Social Studies: A Literacy-based Approach

Teaching Social Studies: A Literacy-Based Approach offers innovative ideas and new directions for teaching social studies. By integrating powerful literacy strategies into instruction, social studies teachers can motivate students to deepen their understanding of social studies concepts and ultimately strengthen their overall comprehension. This book addresses how to teach social studies for understanding and how literature can enhance this process. Chapters feature big ideas to guide planning and instruction, book links to encourage the integration of children’s literature and informational sources, and lesson planning tools to help readers design responsive instruction. Margin notes provide readers with additional information such as history connections, useful websites, and fresh teaching ideas.

Dealing with the crucial classroom factors of national standards and legislation, as well as limited teaching time, Teaching Social Studies: A Literacy-Based Approach clearly guides new and established teachers through the planning, teaching, and assessing of social studies as it integrates powerful literacy strategies that will motivate students, deepen their understanding of social studies concepts, and strengthen their comprehension.

Teaching social studies has always been a challenge for educators.  Doing it effectively requires commitment, organization, creativity, energy, and patience.  The realities of today’s classroom limit the amount of time teachers can spend teaching social studies, but there has never been a time when social studies content has been more valuable, because it is through social studies that students learn to make sense of the world. They learn to become committed citizens of this global community; about the events, people, communications, advancements and conflicts of the past and their consequences on the present; and how to find their own place in history.

Integrating Literacy and Social Studies

• Information about teaching history, economy, geography, and the social sciences ensures students’ understanding of the content as well as their development of literacy skills.
• Book Links provide specific guidance for linking social studies content to motivating, enriching literature.
• History’s Finer Points features engage you in historical thinking that will enliven your teaching.

This text is the best I have ever seen in the Social Studies field for content and strategies on how to develop a good literacy program for the Social Studies.  Steven Thorpe, Southern OregonUniversity

Addressing the Realities of Today’s Classroom

• Vignettes in every chapter reflect masterful, integrated teaching found in the real classrooms of committed, successful social studies teachers.
• Special attention is paid to assessment and Standards alignment when preparing strategies for teaching social studies content and literacy integration.

The text clearly makes connections between social studies and the real world.  It develops topics that are often barely mentioned, such as connections to real-world learning and combining reading and social studies.  It focuses on the essential topics and develops them well.  I think a student reading this book would come away with a good idea of how to teach social studies.  Carolyn F. Riley, Northern IllinoisUniversity

Providing Tools for the Classroom

• Field tested strategies throughout chapters give you the resources to begin powerful, integrated social studies teaching immediately.
• Lesson planning tools help you design responsive instruction.

The specific literacy strategies are excellent. I found myself learning some new-to-me strategies that I’m excited to implement.  This is a real strength. I can see my students marking these strategies with sticky notes for easy reference when they are in-service teachers.  Sara W. Fry. BucknellUniversity