What Is It?

In a secondary Social Studies classroom that supports literacy development, a wide variety of types of resources, including reproductions of primary sources in texts, kits, or Web sites, (e.g., diary entries, newspaper accounts, broadsides, maps, inventories, historical photographs), film, and historical fiction, are used to develop understandings of eras, places, and events. Textbook features are made explicit, and specialized vocabulary is commonly used in classroom discussion. Student writing, and the thinking and approaches of social studies specialists (e.g., anthropologists, archeologists, economists, social historians, sociologists) are investigated. Active participation in the framing and exploration of essential questions is expected. Connections between eras, events, famous and infamous people, different representations of the same or similar events, and past and present are constantly being made. How languages develop and how language is used, both by those in power and by those who resist, is examined as part of historical, cultural, geographic, and psychological studies. Students are expected to read and write to learn; there is frequent discussion, presentation, and debate; and research skills are used in context on a regular basis. Expectations are clear, there are choices in how students can present learning, students are grouped in various ways for different kinds of assignments, and student interests are taken into consideration.

Use of the following strategies will enhance literacy development and understanding of social studies content: KWL Plus, Anticipation Guides, Semantic Mapping, Reciprocal Teaching, Relevance Bubbles, Decision Making, webbing, Flow Charts, guided inquiry, writing of historical fiction, use of WebQuests, Reader's Theatre, Web site development, writing children's nonfiction texts, debate, point of view writing, investigative groups, Word Walls, use of case studies, case study development, focused imaging, interviews, Socratic Questioning, fishbowl discussions, simulations, skits, hypermedia presentations. (General descriptions of many of these can be found in the links under Best Practices in the Key Component B section of this Spotlight).

Students are working in pairs on persuasive multimedia presentations that incorporate a variety of source documents and images to illustrate their essays supporting one side of a controversial topic in American history. They will present these to students of another class, who will rate the quality of their presentations according to the rubric developed by the class at the start of the project. A local cable network will videotape the presentations.

Before you can implement this Key Component, your stakeholders will need to consider some or all of these questions. The questions could be used in group discussions, needs sensing activities, and informal small-group conversations.

• How would planning and teaching change if the strategies described were common practice? How would they remain the same?

• What are the existing barriers to incorporating more of a literacy-focused approach to content area teaching and learning?

• What needs to happen to address these barriers?