Social studies instruction will improve if educators understand and integrate information gained from pragmatics into social studies curriculum and methods. Pragmatics is an area of linguistic study based on the philosophy of pragmatism which emphasizes social consequences of events and actions. Pragmatics deals particularly with the relationships between words or expressions and the way in which people use them. Review of social studies content and methods reveals a strong reliance on the medium of language. For example, the anthropology curriculum stresses cultural concepts which are closely related to language concepts. Also, career education involves study of the functional uses of language in job interviews and in employee relationships. Social studies classroom teachers will increase student involvement in active learning if they encourage discourse conversation in the classroom. Other activities which encourage understanding of meaning through language include role playing, categorizing and describing imaginary situations, interviewing community members to find about family and local history, and class discussion. (MR)