CONTENT LITERACY

STRATEGIES IN SOCIAL
STUDIES CLASSROOMS
By: Patricia Cardoso

Introduction

Social studies is an especially hard subject to master because of

its conceptually-dense content

The National Assessment of Educational Progress found that

of all the content areas, subject matters such as history, geography,

and civics present the most formidable learning challenges... One
reason for this challenge is social studies high cognitive load,
particularly its specialized jargon and low-frequency vocabulary terms,
(Cruz & Thornton, 2012, p.99).

Us History- 54% of 4th graders with learning disabilities and 81% of

12th graders with learning disabilities performed at below basic
levels (Berg & Wehby, 2013)

Many social studies textbooks also assume prior background

knowledge on the subject

Makes it difficult for ELL learners and students with disabilities

Content Literacy Techniques

Several techniques that can be

used to address these problems:
Pre-Teaching

Strategies Berg &

Wehby
Visuals Cruz & Thornton
Technology Holcomb & Beal
Alternate Texts Fenty & Barnett,
Bruhn & Hasselbring

Analysis (1): Pre-Teaching Strategies

Strategies:

Pedagogical Essence & Purpose:

Variety of techniques used before instruction

Allows time for teacher to adjust instruction

Relevance:

vocabulary, graphic organizers, and background

knowledge

Can provide additional time spent actively engaged

with content material

Effectiveness:

Helps avoid need to spend extra time re-teaching

material

Analysis (2): Visuals

Photographs, drawings, paintings, murals, maps, political

cartoon, propaganda posters, and graphic organizers
Flexible
Pedagogical Essence & Purpose:

Relevance:

They offer concrete representations of abstract concepts that

are memorable for most students, (Cruz & Thornton, 2012).
They reduce cognitive load
Nonlinguistic knowledge - easy to learn and recall information
Especially useful for visual learners and students with LD
Pictures are easier to recall than long paragraphs

Effectiveness:

Increase motivation and self efficacy

Make learning more meaningful and lasting

Analysis (3): Technology

With the inclusion of technology social studies has become more handson and interactive
Pedagogical Essence:

Examples:

VoiceThread- Allows for interactive sharing of images, video, and documents

Gliffy- Web-based diagram and concept mapping software
Community Walk- Online platform for creating informational, interactive, and
engaging maps
Footnote- Original source documents from the worlds archives

Relevance:

fosters and supports inquiry based learning and constructivism [of ideas],
(Holcomb & Beal, 2010).

Capitalizes on student interest, curiosity, and creativity

Empowers learners
Immediate sense of accomplishments and gratification

Effectiveness:

Fosters collaborations and communication

Analysis (4): Alternate Texts

Many students with learning disabilities read 3 years or more below grade
level (Fenty & Barnett, 2013)
Social studies texts- Complex vocabulary, text structure, and length of text
Can include

Readability- texts should be at reading level

significant positive impact on students ability to make inferences, read fluently,

and experience interest and engagement in text, (Fenty & Barnett, 2013).

Relevance:

Can be read with 90-95% to accuracy with few errors (Fenty & Barnett)

Use texts that activate prior knowledge

Pedagogical Essence:

Magazines, newspapers, trade books, etc.

Important to identify students scoring below benchmark and targeting texts that
will help with those deficits

Effectiveness:

Helps with understanding of content

Breaks down difficult concepts

Synthesis of Theory & Practice: Thirteen

Colonies Lesson Plan

Pre-teaching:

Visuals:

Map of the 13 colonies

Venn Diagram- Pilgrims vs. Puritans
Data Chart

Technology:

Brainstorming
Map of 13 colonies
Data Chart
Discussion

Witchy Webquest
Mock Trial
Improvement/Addition:

Alternate Texts:

Summary of the Salem Witch Trials

Cause

& Effect, Sequence

Conclusion
Through the use of preteaching, visuals,
technology, and alternate texts content
area literacy in social studies will
improve. When used correctly and
appropriately these strategies can be
especially helpful for students with
disabilities because they provide
alternate ways of learning, rather than
the traditional lecture style of direct
instruction.

Sources

Berg, J., & Wehby, J. (2013). Preteaching Strategies to Improve Student Learning in
Content Area Classes.Intervention in School and Clinic,49(1), 14-20. Retrieved
November 5, 2014, from Academic Search Elite.

Bruhn, A., & Hasselbring, T. (2013). Increasing Student Access to Content Area
Textbooks. Intervention in School and Clinic,49(1), 30-38. Retrieved November 5,
2014, from Academic Search Elite.

Cruz, B., & Thornton, S. (2012). Visualizing Social Studies Literacy: Teaching Content
and Skills to English Language Learners.Social Studies Research and Practice,7(2),
98-111. Retrieved November 6, 2014, from Education Search.

Fenty, N., & Barnett, K. (2013). Using Alternate Texts to Support Comprehension of
the Core Content Curriculum.Intervention in School and Clinic,49(1), 21-29.
Retrieved November 5, 2014, from Academic Search Elite.

Holcomb, L., & Beal, C. (2010). Capitalizing on Web 2.0 in the Social Studies
Context.Tech Trends,54(4), 28-32. Retrieved November 5, 2014, from Academic
Search Elite.