Integrating Content and Literacy in Social Studies: Assessing Instructional Materials and Student Work From a Common Core-Aligned Intervention

Abstract

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) call on science and social studies teachers to engage in literacy instruction that prepares students for the academic rigors of college. The Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) designed a framework to address the challenge of literacy–content integration. At the heart of the intervention are fill-in-the-blank writing prompts that teachers are expected to populate with appropriate content in English Language Arts (ELA), history, or science. This study examines 42 LDC instructional units designed by 8th grade social studies teachers from 2 states as well as the student written work that emerged from these instructional units. My analysis suggests that, on its own, the content literacy approach reflected in the LDC framework is inadequate for helping students use textual evidence in the ways stipulated by CCSS. In particular, students are unlikely to acknowledge authorship or indicate why the evidence they selected is relevant or credible.

Keywords:

• Common Core State Standards
• content literacy
• disciplinary literacy
• social studies
• teacher knowledge

Notes

¹ According to an LDC facilitator in Pennsylvania, the reduction in days devoted to formal professional development reflected the Gates Foundation’s focus on scalability (interview 2/10/2016).