12 reading and writing resources for teaching social studies

Feeling a bit uneasy about how to respond to the Common Core Literacy Standards for History / Government? Struggling with what that looks like? Need a few ideas and suggestions for integrating reading and writing into your social studies instruction?

Check out the 12 web sites below to get a head start:

Literacy Strategies & Book Sites

• Children’s Literature with Social Studies
  Great resources for K-6 teachers
• Glossary of Instructional Strategies
  Hundreds of effective strategies to try
• Literacy in Social Studies
  Some useful links and tutorials
• ReadingQuest: Making Sense in Social Studies
  A website designed for social studies teachers who wish to more effectively engage their students with the content in their classes
• Reading Strategies for the Social Studies Classroom
  Use these practice activities to help struggling readers with comprehension
• Reading, Writing and Researching for History
  Written for college kids but could be adapted for MS and HS use
• Notable Tradebooks
  Yearly list of K-8 tradebooks by the National Council for the Social Studies
• Annontated Book List
  An older but still useful list of books by topic
• Schools of California Online Resources for Education / History & Social Studies
  Lessons and extensive book lists by grade
• Opening Doors with Childrens Lit
  Book titles by topic
• Reading Strategies for the Social Studies Classroom (pdf)
  Helpful ideas from middle school teachers
• Recommended Reading List
  Extensive list from the California DOE

And you know I love a good graphic organizer. You should too. Because they help you and your students scaffold historical thinking.

So tomorrow? Eight sweet tools to help your students make sense of a wide variety of documents and other resources.