Nine Districts on Making Social Studies Work
Districts that structured time for K–5 social studies before pushing for depth found it easier to go deeper later. Social studies outcomes showed up in ELA writing, in student discourse, and in portrait-of-a-graduate goals districts had already set. This brief documents what nine of those districts did first.
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Download the Implementation Brief
See what nine districts found.
Three findings surfaced across almost every district.
Across settings, grade levels, and starting points, the same patterns kept appearing.
- Structure came first. In every district where social studies became a consistent part of the schedule, someone protected time for it before asking for instructional depth. The growth followed that decision.
- Outcomes showed up where districts weren't looking. Academic vocabulary appeared in ELA writing. Discussion habits carried over into other subjects. Inquiry skills connected directly to portrait-of-a-graduate goals districts had already defined.
- Students could do more than the instruction had been asking of them. Once teachers gave students access to primary sources and complex questions, students engaged with them, across settings, grade levels, and year one through year three.
What's inside the brief
What's inside the brief
- District-by-district implementation snapshots. What each of the nine districts prioritized, what structural decisions they made, and what shifted when they made them.
- Three cross-district findings. Patterns that held across suburban, urban, and rural settings, across grade levels, and across districts at very different starting points.
- Questions for district leaders. Prompts to consider where your district is in relation to each finding, and where to start.
- About Inquiry Journeys. Context on the ESSA Tier IV-designated K–5 curriculum all nine districts were implementing.
