Students having difficulty with reading in the social studies may be having difficulty with much more than the technical, skill-oriented facility with language that the content area approach is supposed to alleviate. Students must also be taught to interpret the text, i.e., to link the world to the words that represent it. (RM)

A major goal of the social studies teacher should be to nurture independent reading-thinking habits, including inquisitiveness, critical thinking, and evaluation of ideas presented in information. How this can be done through skillful question planning is discussed. (RM)

This book shows teachers how to help their learners take an active role in becoming strategic thinkers and readers and how to develop meaningful lessons to aid students in their comprehension of text. The book delineates an arts-integrated curriculum that helps teachers teach reading comprehension strategies. It is an in-depth look at the effects…

The ability to determine what a main idea is and to identify supporting details are two concerns which are effectively integrated in a high school reading/writing program that aims at improved communication, increased skills use, and preparation for survival. (Author/KC)

A lesson, "Harriet Tubman: A Most Successful Conductor," illustrates how to employ a basal reader in social studies instruction in the elementary grades. This approach offers students a relevant curriculum, greater opportunities for concept development, practice in skills areas, and activities that offer greater opportunity to master…

Suggested activities for integrating language concepts and comprehension skills into elementary school geography instruction are presented. The activities focus on concept formation through semantic mapping and making analogies, and on comprehension through recalling, generalizing, interpreting, and making inferences. Semantic maps indicate spoke…

Describes a directed reading and writing lesson that uses the power of the composing process throughout content area lessons to enhance reading comprehension. Uses a fifth grade science lesson as a model. (FL)

An experiment in a grade 2 French immersion program compared performance of a group-taught music lessons totally integrated into classroom instruction and a group not given music instruction. Pre- and post-tests of tonal-rhythmic patterns and form that have commonalities with pronunciation, oral grammar, vocabulary, and reading comprehension found…

Middle level teachers are unique not just by virtue of the level of students they teach but also by the ways in which they teach. This monograph emphasizes strategies that actively engage students of all ability levels, promote collaboration, provide for various levels of concrete and abstract thought, and foster student inquiry. The monograph…

Intended for elementary and secondary school language arts teachers, this guide lists suggested outcomes in the development of successful communicators, based on knowledge of child development. Following an introduction, the guide discusses key considerations and procedural sugestions for developing the communications/language arts curriculum. The…

Ways in which social studies teachers can help students in grades 6, 7, and 8 improve their reading comprehension and understanding of social studies ideas and concepts are discussed, and sample reading comprehension activities are provided. First, teachers must choose a textbook with readability and concept levels appropriate for their students.…