Reading Actively in Middle Grade Social Studies

Middle grade students can learn a great deal about themselves and their world by reading informative texts in social studies courses. These texts will focus on important topics in history, geography, civics, government, and economics and offer students a range of perspectives on past and present social events. But reading is a complex act, and most students need specific reading-related support to understand assigned texts in middle grade social studies courses.

This book focuses on the cyclical nature of reading, the actions proficient readers engage in to understand social studies textbooks and other informational texts, and the instructional support that teachers can provide to enhance middle grade students’ learning of social studies content through reading. Three associated questions will be addressed in this book:

•What actions do proficient readers engage in to understand assigned course texts?

•What do these actions entail, and how do they relate to each other?

•What teacher-mediated practices best support middle grade students’ development as proficient readers and enhance their learning of course content through reading?