What matters most here
| Rank | Practice | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daily, protected social studies time | Correlation: 30 extra minutes a day linked to about 0.15 SD better reading by grade 5 (EdWeek on Fordham(opens in a new tab)) |
| 2 | Connected units with substantial reading and writing (principle 10) | Evidence grade: Proven in classrooms Proven for reading via the lottery study |
| 3 | Quizzing on key people, places, and events (principles 6, 7) | Evidence grade: Proven in classrooms Proven across school levels |
A lesson in this room
Quiz on last week's thirteen colonies. Teacher tells the story of one colony's founding with a map and timeline. Class reads a short passage together; every student writes an answer to a question on it. Exit: place three events on a timeline.
Leader look-fors
- Social studies taught daily or near daily
- Maps and timelines in active use
- Writing about content, not just opinion
Stop doing
Dropping social studies to every other week, or folding it into reading as occasional passages.
Where the evidence runs out
The time study is a correlation; the authors could not explain why science time showed no similar link (EdWeek(opens in a new tab)).