Literacy in Social Studies
Page Location: Disciplinary Literacy --> Literacy in Social Studies
Speaking Up for Science and Social Studies Nell K. Duke, UM
Developed at the request of the CCSSO Social Studies Collaborative, this video makes the case, from the perspective of a literacy researcher, for devoting more time to science and social studies education in the elementary grades.
Reading Apprenticeship Resources -- Student Learning Goals -- History
(Downloadable list from RA site)
New! Introducing the C3 Framework for Social Studies
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards
C3 Resources from the C3 Literacy Collaborative
The College, Career and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards re-envisions the purpose and instructional practices of social studies education in the states.
These free recorded webinars will help you learn more about the C3 Framework and the instructional shifts needed to address the ambitions of social studies education laid out in the C3 Framework, and to help students achieve the goals of the new ELA/literacy Common Core State Standards.
C3 Instructional Shifts Video - K Swan, UK
C3 Instructional Shifts - pdf
Resources for developing your own C3 Lessons
Grades K-2 - C3 Framework Instructional Planning Guide
Grades 3-5 - C3 Framework Instructional Planning Guide
Grades 6-8 - C3 Framework Instructional Planning Guide
Grades 9-12 - C3 Framework Instructional Planning Guide
Inquiry Design Model
Resources from C3Teachers.org -- Access Inquiry Design Model Resources
Cognitive Complexity: Webb's DOK and Bloom's Taxonomy Adapted for Social Studies - Karen Hess
Top Five Resources for Aligning Your Social Studies Curricula with the CCSS
ASCD Edge
The Choices Program, Brown University
History and Current Issues for the Classroom
Units draw upon multiple primary source documents and culminate in a rigorous student-centered role-playing activity. The Choices activities require students to apply their authentic knowledge to a public policy decision.
DBQ Project - Document-Based Questioning
Engaging inquiry-based units that inspire clear, evidence-based argument writing
Read Like a Historian - 75 primary source-based lessons that encompass the traditional US history curriculum.
Stanford University History Education Group
Read Like a Historian Lesson plans developed by Stanford University Professors on how to approach historical primary and secondary sources from as professional historians do.
Gilder Lehrman Institute (GLI) of American History
Teaching the Common Core - Links to Units
SPICE Stanford Program on International and Cross Cultural Education
Over 100 global studies units that explore contemporary issues via historical and cultural analysis. SPICE lessons are attentive to spatial analysis and economic decision making.
Michigan Geographic Alliance (MGA)
The MGA is part of the National Geographic Society's national network of state geographic alliances.It provides online teacher resources, including Internet Mapping, and lesson plans.
Digital Docs in a Box - Documentary kits for busy but ambitious social studies teachers
The Big History Project is a free, online course that tells the story of our Universe and humanity. Developing a framework to help people learn about anything and everything. It is inherently interdisciplinary – combining the best of social studies, humanities, and science.
Docs Teach Ready-to-use tools for teaching documents in the classroom and thousands of primary source documents selected from the national archives.
Text Sets for Literacy in Social Studies
from the Reading and Writing Project at Teachers College, Columbia University
Colonial Times (1600 - 1750) Information Texts -- Harvey and Goudvis Toolkit Resources
Download Free Sampler
We turn information into knowledge by thinking about it. These texts support students in using the Toolkit’s comprehension and thinking strategies as tools to acquire and actively use knowledge about history.”
--Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis
To support cross-curricular strategy instruction and close reading for information, Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis have expanded their Toolkit series to include a library of short nonfiction for American history.
NYTimes - Room for Debate
In Room for Debate, The Times invites knowledgeable outside contributors to discuss news events and other timely issues. Reader comments are moderated Monday through Friday.
Common Core Curriculum Mapping -- History Lessons linked to ELA units
Six Word Memoirs in History Class
Using only six words to describe yourself or another person -- the six-word memoir -- teaches students the power of word choice, history teacher Jonathan Olsen writes. In this blog post, Olsen writes about how his students described the accomplishments of historical figures in six words and then presented these memoirs through a website developed by Mozilla and the National Writing Project for six-word memoirs. "The six-word memoir teaches all of us writers a critical skill: words are valuable and have meaning -- don't waste them," Olsen writes.
Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC)
Social Studies Modules
SREB Readiness Courses
Literacy Ready -- Ready for Reading in All Disciplines
This course teaches students strategies for reading and truly understanding specific kinds of complex texts in all subjects — reading a biology textbook, for example, is different than reading short stories or history research articles. Students learn to develop and defend ideas from the text and write about them in different college-level formats.
Literacy Ready prepares high school students to read and write about college-level texts in core subjects.
6 units -- 2 in social science/history; 2 in English; 2 in science
History Unit Contexts -- Civil Rights Movement / Writing a Historical Narrative; US Foreign Affairs / Interpreting History and Writing an Argument
The content of each discipline is at the forefront of the curriculum, while literacy skills specific to each discipline are emphasized in reading and writing assignments based on the content.
Constitution Day Resources
Developed at the request of the CCSSO Social Studies Collaborative, this video makes the case, from the perspective of a literacy researcher, for devoting more time to science and social studies education in the elementary grades.
Reading Apprenticeship Resources -- Student Learning Goals -- History
(Downloadable list from RA site)
New! Introducing the C3 Framework for Social Studies
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards
C3 Resources from the C3 Literacy Collaborative
The College, Career and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards re-envisions the purpose and instructional practices of social studies education in the states.
These free recorded webinars will help you learn more about the C3 Framework and the instructional shifts needed to address the ambitions of social studies education laid out in the C3 Framework, and to help students achieve the goals of the new ELA/literacy Common Core State Standards.
C3 Instructional Shifts Video - K Swan, UK
C3 Instructional Shifts - pdf
Resources for developing your own C3 Lessons
Grades K-2 - C3 Framework Instructional Planning Guide
Grades 3-5 - C3 Framework Instructional Planning Guide
Grades 6-8 - C3 Framework Instructional Planning Guide
Grades 9-12 - C3 Framework Instructional Planning Guide
Inquiry Design Model
Resources from C3Teachers.org -- Access Inquiry Design Model Resources
Cognitive Complexity: Webb's DOK and Bloom's Taxonomy Adapted for Social Studies - Karen Hess
Top Five Resources for Aligning Your Social Studies Curricula with the CCSS
ASCD Edge
The Choices Program, Brown University
History and Current Issues for the Classroom
Units draw upon multiple primary source documents and culminate in a rigorous student-centered role-playing activity. The Choices activities require students to apply their authentic knowledge to a public policy decision.
DBQ Project - Document-Based Questioning
Engaging inquiry-based units that inspire clear, evidence-based argument writing
Read Like a Historian - 75 primary source-based lessons that encompass the traditional US history curriculum.
Stanford University History Education Group
Read Like a Historian Lesson plans developed by Stanford University Professors on how to approach historical primary and secondary sources from as professional historians do.
Gilder Lehrman Institute (GLI) of American History
Teaching the Common Core - Links to Units
SPICE Stanford Program on International and Cross Cultural Education
Over 100 global studies units that explore contemporary issues via historical and cultural analysis. SPICE lessons are attentive to spatial analysis and economic decision making.
Michigan Geographic Alliance (MGA)
The MGA is part of the National Geographic Society's national network of state geographic alliances.It provides online teacher resources, including Internet Mapping, and lesson plans.
Digital Docs in a Box - Documentary kits for busy but ambitious social studies teachers
The Big History Project is a free, online course that tells the story of our Universe and humanity. Developing a framework to help people learn about anything and everything. It is inherently interdisciplinary – combining the best of social studies, humanities, and science.
- It will take about 6-8 hours to complete the core material and quizzes
- The content mixes great editorial with videos, infographics, and imagery
- Features leading academics and experts in a range of fields
- Optional quizzes test your knowledge along the way
Docs Teach Ready-to-use tools for teaching documents in the classroom and thousands of primary source documents selected from the national archives.
Text Sets for Literacy in Social Studies
from the Reading and Writing Project at Teachers College, Columbia University
Colonial Times (1600 - 1750) Information Texts -- Harvey and Goudvis Toolkit Resources
Download Free Sampler
We turn information into knowledge by thinking about it. These texts support students in using the Toolkit’s comprehension and thinking strategies as tools to acquire and actively use knowledge about history.”
--Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis
To support cross-curricular strategy instruction and close reading for information, Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis have expanded their Toolkit series to include a library of short nonfiction for American history.
NYTimes - Room for Debate
In Room for Debate, The Times invites knowledgeable outside contributors to discuss news events and other timely issues. Reader comments are moderated Monday through Friday.
Common Core Curriculum Mapping -- History Lessons linked to ELA units
Six Word Memoirs in History Class
Using only six words to describe yourself or another person -- the six-word memoir -- teaches students the power of word choice, history teacher Jonathan Olsen writes. In this blog post, Olsen writes about how his students described the accomplishments of historical figures in six words and then presented these memoirs through a website developed by Mozilla and the National Writing Project for six-word memoirs. "The six-word memoir teaches all of us writers a critical skill: words are valuable and have meaning -- don't waste them," Olsen writes.
Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC)
Social Studies Modules
SREB Readiness Courses
Literacy Ready -- Ready for Reading in All Disciplines
This course teaches students strategies for reading and truly understanding specific kinds of complex texts in all subjects — reading a biology textbook, for example, is different than reading short stories or history research articles. Students learn to develop and defend ideas from the text and write about them in different college-level formats.
Literacy Ready prepares high school students to read and write about college-level texts in core subjects.
6 units -- 2 in social science/history; 2 in English; 2 in science
History Unit Contexts -- Civil Rights Movement / Writing a Historical Narrative; US Foreign Affairs / Interpreting History and Writing an Argument
The content of each discipline is at the forefront of the curriculum, while literacy skills specific to each discipline are emphasized in reading and writing assignments based on the content.
Constitution Day Resources