Social studies supports literacy development
When students engage in structured inquiry-based social studies, they don’t just build deep content knowledge. They practice a full range of literacy skills in purposeful, powerful ways.
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What if social studies was the best literacy strategy?
Schools often find they need to cut time from social studies to provide more ELA instruction. But research tells a different story: students with more social studies instruction actually perform better on reading assessments.
Key stat:
Just 30 more minutes of social studies per day → 15% reading score gain (Tyner & Kabourek, 2020)
Takeaway:
Reading and writing are deeper, and stickier, when students do them for a reason. Social studies provides that reason.
Rich texts + purposeful tasks = better readers
Social studies isn’t extra. It’s where essential reading work happens. High-quality social studies materials:
- Provide rich, complex texts (primary and secondary sources as well as picture books and other texts)
- Scaffold close reading with supports like annotation, text previews, and think-alouds
- Ask students to identify textual evidence, compare sources, and evaluate arguments
- Deepen understanding through rereading and guided analysis
Inquiry Journeys is literacy-rich
Inquiry Journeys (K–5 social studies curriculum) provides inquiry-based instruction for young learners through hands-on investigations and primary source analysis. Explore how elementary students build knowledge and skills by asking questions, analyzing evidence, and connecting learning to their lives and communities.
Speaking and listening for deeper learning
In structured social studies inquiry, students don’t just absorb information. They talk through it, test ideas, and present their thinking to others:
- Protocols support rich, respectful discussion, from turn-and-talks to formal presentations
- Sentence stems and scaffolds help all learners express ideas clearly and cite evidence
- Peer dialogue and feedback strengthen comprehension and communication
- Public speaking opportunities, like presenting findings to real audiences, build confidence and purpose
How to tell if an elementary social studies curriculum builds literacy
The Literacy in Social Studies Materials Review Rubric helps educators evaluate how well materials support literacy, through the lens of social studies.
Use it to:
- Identify strengths and gaps in current materials
- Ensure alignment to ELA and content-area literacy standards
- Support curriculum adoption or revision with clear, research-based criteria
- Embed clear literacy access points to support a wide range of learners
Vocabulary that sticks
In social studies, vocabulary isn’t taught in isolation. It’s embedded in content, introduced in context, and reinforced through purposeful use across lessons and learning tasks.
- Vocabulary is introduced in context with student-friendly definitions and examples
- Key terms are revisited across texts, questions, and instructional materials
- Activities prompt students to use vocabulary in speaking, writing, and discussion
- Words are tied to content knowledge, making them meaningful and memorable
Writing that builds thinkers and communicators
High-quality social studies instruction engages students in meaningful writing every day—and not just as an end product, but as part of the learning process. Across units, students:
Construct claims and explanations using valid reasoning and evidence
Draft, revise, and refine their work with rubrics and peer feedback
Research complex questions with multiple sources, assessing credibility
Write for real purposes and audiences through quick writes and extended tasks
What to look for in literacy-rich social studies instruction
These quick snapshots show how high-quality social studies instruction naturally integrates reading, writing, and speaking to build literacy through every unit.
Reading Comprehension
High-quality social studies materials do more than expose students to texts. They guide them to analyze, question, and synthesize meaning from complex sources. Look for:
- Scaffolds like annotation, modeling, and graphic organizers that support close reading
- A wide range of source types (texts, maps, videos, and visuals) that deepen content knowledge
- Routines that help students make inferences, identify central ideas, and cite evidence to support claims
- Opportunities for independent investigation and reflection to extend comprehension beyond a single text
Writing Composition
Effective social studies instruction embeds writing throughout the inquiry, not just at the end. Students write to build understanding, express ideas, and share findings. Look for:
- Prompts and scaffolds that guide students in constructing claims and explanations with evidence
- Graphic organizers, rubrics, and feedback protocols that support planning, revising, and refining work
- A mix of quick writes and extended tasks that build toward writing for real purposes and audiences
- Tasks that connect writing to disciplinary thinking, like cause/effect, compare/contrast, or decision-making
Speaking, Listening, and Language
Social studies provides daily opportunities for students to speak, listen, and collaborate with purpose. High-quality materials expand these moments, creating space for students to share perspectives, engage in academic dialogue, and present their ideas with confidence. Look for:
- Structured protocols and sentence stems that support respectful, evidence-based conversation
- A balance of informal discussion and formal presentations tied to meaningful questions
- Scaffolds that develop vocabulary, oral fluency, and effective communication for authentic audiences
- Opportunities for rehearsal, peer feedback, and refinement before public speaking or sharing
Primary and secondary sources support literacy skills
Not every text or video students encounter is worthy of their trust, and that’s a lesson worth learning early.
Here's what to look for in primary and secondary sources in elementary social studies:
- Credibility: Is the source reliable and well-documented?
- Perspective: Whose voice is this? Who is missing?
- Clarity and Age-Appropriateness: Does it connect meaningfully to what students are learning? Is it engaging for young learners?
- Purpose and Context: Why was this created? For what audience?
In Inquiry Journeys, every source, whether a 1960s photograph or a modern news segment, is chosen with these questions in mind and paired with scaffolds to support analysis. Download our Inquiry Journeys sources infographic for more information.
Frequently asked questions
Curious about how inquiry works in real classrooms? This section covers key questions from educators and leaders exploring structured, inquiry-based social studies.
Isn’t literacy best taught in ELA?
Literacy starts in ELA, but literacy skills sharpen through practical application and authentic contexts. Social studies provides that practice and context—plus the purpose, complexity, and motivation to go deeper.
Do social studies materials really align to literacy standards?
High-quality materials like those reviewed with inquirED’s rubric explicitly align to reading, writing, and speaking/listening standards—and scaffold student success.
What about students who struggle with reading?
Scaffolded texts, visual tools, and multimodal learning in social studies provide multiple access points—and promote equity.
Will this take away from core content instruction in social studies?
Not at all. In fact, literacy work deepens content learning. Reading, writing, and discourse are grounded in the core concepts and inquiries of each unit—so students build knowledge and literacy together.
How does this support multilingual learners?
High-quality materials embed vocabulary supports, visual cues, sentence stems, and collaborative structures that give multilingual learners multiple ways to access and express understanding.
How do we know it is working?
Research shows that increased time spent on content-rich instruction—like social studies—improves literacy outcomes. And classroom evidence confirms it: students engage more deeply, retain more, and write with greater purpose.
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