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

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.

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

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

“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?”

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.11.5-8.1-7 The student’s ability to decode a new word by recognizing the prefix, suffix, root words, aka morphology of the new vocabulary word.

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

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

Background Knowledge Ideas Concepts Information

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

Literacy + Social Studies Vital Mutually beneficial Utilize resources

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, 263-267 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, 199-222.