1. Integrating Literacy into Social Studies
Katie Marsico, M.A.T.

2. What’s new?
Common Core Standards for Social Studies require a higher standard of expectation for literacy and comprehension through the use of complex texts.

3. The Problem
Most social studies teachers are not trained to comfortably teach literacy.

4. What we already know…
Ways to integrate reading, writing, and speaking into the social studies classroom:
Vocabulary
Background knowledge
Visual aids
Summarization

5. “What types of literacy strategies can I implement in my middle school social studies classroom that will effectively teach and guide my students toward the knowledge needed to master the unit or skill?”

6. Vocabulary CCSS.LITERACY.S.1.5-8.1-2. CCSS.LITERACY.R.11.5-8.1-7
Spoken vocabulary should be a combination of content area vocabulary, personal readings, and text literature.
CCSS.LITERACY.R
The student’s ability to decode a new word by recognizing the prefix, suffix, root words, aka morphology of the new vocabulary word.

7. Only 51.9% of social studies teachers were observed presenting vocabulary definitions to their students (Swanson, 2016).

8. Vocabulary Strategies
Word Sorts
Small groups
Sort significant words into different categories
Definitions
Topic
Time period
Concept Cube
Six square cut out
Word
Antonym
Synonym
Category
Characteristics
Example
Cut and fold into 3D cube

9. Background Knowledge
Ideas
Concepts
Information

10. 43.1% of classrooms were observed as using background knowledge as a reading comprehension strategy (Swanson, 2016).

11. Background Knowledge Strategies
Knowledge Map
Pre-read
Record
Summarize
Anticipation Guide
Pre-read
Teacher prepared statements
True
False
Direct to text for confirmation

12. Visual Aids CCSS.LITERACY.RH.6-8.1-4
Integrate visual information (charts, graphs, photographs, videos, maps) with other information in print and digital texts.

13. Visual Aid Strategies KWL Chart Pre-read During Read Venn Diagram
3 columns
Column 1: Know
Column 2: Want to Know
During Read
Column 3: Learned
Venn Diagram
Compare and contrast
Overlapping Circles
Topic 1 in left circle
Topic 2 in right circle
Common themes or likeness in middle
Topic 1
Topic 2

14. Discussion CCSS.ELA.LITERACY.SL.8.1.
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

15. 17.7% of social studies classrooms use discussions (Swanson, 2016).

16. Discussion Strategies
Small Groups
Time limit
2-3 students
Report results back to class
Questions
Comments
Integrate results into closing lecture
Informal Collaborative Learning
Analyze or annotate text
Assign student roles
Scribe
Taskmaster
Spokesperson

17. Literacy + Social Studies
Vital
Mutually beneficial
Utilize resources

18. References
Evans, M. and Clark, S. (2015) Finding a place for CCSS literacy skills in the middle school social studies curriculum. The Clearing House, 88, 1-8.
Macphee, D. A. and Whitecotton, E. J. (2011) Bringing the “social” back to social studies: literacy strategies as tools for understanding history. The Social Studies, 102,
Swanson, E. Wanzek, J. McCulley, L. Stillman-Spisak, S. Vaughn, S. Simmons, D. Fogarty, M, and Hairrell, (2016) Literacy and text reading in middle and high school social studies and English language arts classrooms. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 32:3,