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?

As a director of social studies programs in teacher education for almost 20 years, it is very promising to read practical pedagogical pieces of work like Don K. Philpot's Reading Actively in Middle Grades Social Stuides: Teachers and Students in Action. Philpot is able to take (action!) on the extremely difficult and daunting task of authentically and authoritatively blending the social studies with an everyday subject like reading, turning it into a compelling read that I shall recommend to my fellow colleagues., If you’re a middle school social studies teacher looking for instructional ideas that support students as they read to learn in your discipline, this is the text for you. Philpot’s classroom examples illustrate the reading process in action by demonstrating how to engage student interest, how to address student struggles, and how to promote learning for all, as they participate in whole class and small group instructional contexts., Middle level educators realize the need to connect reading strategies and thinking across disciplines. This text not only provides theory and strategies with specific examples based on social studies teachers' work with content standards, there is also a deep connection to planning and assessing student learning. Every social studies teacher needs both literacy and strategies for presenting social studies content. Philpot shares exemplary samples, rationales, and tools for planning engaging lessons. This text bridges social studies planning with a thorough connection to reading practices that enhance deeper thinking. I loved how this book integrates practical reading theory and strategies with social studies lessons. In addition, the focus on intentional, rich lesson planning provides students with multiple opportunities to engage in social studies content blends what we know about the learning needs of young adolescents. Philpot gives social studies teachers multiple tools to engage young adolescents., Don Philpot’s book, Reading Actively in Middle Grade Social Studies: Teachers and Students in Action, explains before, during, and after processes used in reading social studies texts. Social studies teachers stand to learn a lot about vocabulary, linguistic elements, text structure, and other aspects of texts that will help them help their students read for understanding. If you are a social studies teacher with students who struggle to read the textbooks in your classes, this book is for you., Educators are always looking for relevant and interesting work that will challenge students to think beyond the ordinary. A work that should find its way into every classroom.

Don K. Philpot is a teacher, teacher educator, and writer. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on the topics of instructional methodologies, content area reading, reading and writing instruction, and children’s literature in Pennsylvania.