As an elementary or middle school studies teacher, one of your main responsibilities is to help your students comprehend and engage with the content you are teaching. Reading is a fundamental part of learning in social studies, but it can be challenging for some students. In order for students to be proficient in understanding social studies concepts, they need to be able to access the content they are learning through inquiry and collaboration. Students need opportunities to think, question, discuss, respond, and predict. This happens when we engage students in reading, collaborating, and creating to demonstrate what they've learned.
6 Ways to Support Students' Reading in Social Studies
1. Set the Stage for Reading by Previewing the Text
Start by identifying the purpose for reading - what are they reading and why are they reading it? Next, have students preview the text. Teach them how to pay attention to titles, headings, and any visuals, such as maps or illustrations. They can turn headings into questions and see if they can answer the questions when they are done reading. Previewing texts before reading all the way through, helps students get a sense of what the text is about. This low input, high impact strategy supports students in activating prior knowledge and making predictions about what they will read and learn.
2. Chunk the Text into Sections and Collaborate
Long texts can be overwhelming for some students, especially if they struggle with reading. Breaking the text into smaller chunks helps students better comprehend what they are reading because they have a specific focus. Chunking texts can be a collaborative task when combined with the Jigsaw Method. For the Jigsaw Method, assign sections for students to read in a group. They can read all together, or independently and then come back together as a group. It's a good idea to make sure each student has his/her own copy of the text. Teach them how to annotate as they read by highlighting new vocabulary, asking questions, and writing what they learned as they go. After reading their assigned sections, students discuss what they read and annotated. Consider providing and teaching with a graphic organizer, thinking map, and/or guiding questions to support their thinking and discussions. Finally, have each group will share what their group read and learned. This could be presented in a Gallery Walk where each group learns from the "experts."
3. Read Aloud with Discussion
Reading social studies texts aloud supports students as they learn to understand the content. When the teacher reads aloud, students can hear the tone and inflection which can provide additional meaning. Reading aloud also provides opportunities for discussions like turn and talk and/or think-pair-share. Guiding questions aligned to sections of a text should be prepared in advance. These questions can be used to facilitate discussions and help students make connections and meaning of what they are reading. Partner discussions provide students opportunities to engage with the content on a deeper level.
4. Use Thinking Maps
Thinking Maps can be used to help students make sense of complex content in social studies. Thinking Maps help students build the background knowledge and vocabulary that become the foundation of reading comprehension as they progress through each grade. When Thinking Maps are integrated with social studies texts, they support students comprehension as they apply reading skills like sequencing, summarizing, questioning, and finding the main idea and details. In the social studies classroom, these skills require students to "think like a social scientist."
5. Summarize
Summarizing supports students as they synthesize content to put it in their own words. If scaffolds are needed, provide a graphic organizer and teach students how to use it. Summarizing informational texts can be complex, and therefore the strategy should be modeled. Integrate discussion opportunities for students to listen to the key details identified by their peers. Provide students with expectations in the form of rubrics and exemplars before requiring them to provide written summaries independently.
6. Reflect on Learning & Ask Questions
Provide a purpose for reading before any reading task is implemented. This can be in the form of an essential question or a learning target. After reading, have students reflect on their learning. Can they answer the essential question using details from the text, their learning, and their discussions? Did they meet the learning target? How do they know? They may even after lingering questions after reading. Lingering questions invite inquiry, and inquiry drives motivation and learning! A written reflection can be as an independent thinking activity after done after discussing and summarizing the text. A written reflection can be done in a social studies reflection journal so students can keep track of their learning.
Reading is an essential component of comprehending social studies content. Integrating effective strategies can support and engage all learners in understanding social studies texts, while making sense of social studies concepts. Engaging students with a purpose, and then implementing effective strategies, can ensure equitable access to social studies content.
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