What matters most here
| Rank | Practice | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A planned K–2 sequence of history and geography topics, taught through read-alouds (principle 10) | Evidence grade: Proven in classrooms Proven for later reading outcomes (Grissmer et al.(opens in a new tab)); social studies scores themselves not yet tested |
| 2 | Social studies themes inside literacy lessons, with summer reading on the same themes | Evidence grade: Proven in classrooms Proven in the MORE trial, which included social studies lessons (WWC(opens in a new tab)) |
| 3 | Maps and timelines explained, then used every day | Evidence grade: Promising Promising |
A lesson in this room
Oral warm-up on last week's story of ancient Egypt. Teacher shows the Nile on a map and reads aloud about farming along the river. Students retell in pairs, then draw and label one thing they learned.
Leader look-fors
- Is social studies on the schedule and happening?
- Does this week's topic connect to last week's?
Stop doing
Treating K–2 social studies as only "me, my family, my community" with no stories from beyond the child's own life.
Where the evidence runs out
Effects of specific K–2 social studies sequences on social studies knowledge itself are rarely measured.
Principles
Sources
- Grissmer et al. 2023 (opens in a new tab)
educationnext.org
- WWC review of MORE (opens in a new tab)
ies.ed.gov