Social Studies is Essential to a Well-Rounded Education
Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act in 2001, “social studies education has been marginalized.” (Schul, 2011) With the
December 2015 passage of the Every Child Succeeds Act, social studies is now a prominent part of the “well-rounded education” advocated for by
federal education policy (Congress, 2015). To ensure that all students’ educational experience meets the legislative expectation of “a well-rounded
education,” social studies must return to the core of a student’s education from elementary school thought high school graduation.
Especially important to achieving a “well-rounded” education is the revitalization of social studies in elementary and middle schools. The
NCLB Act of 2001 mandated the testing of mathematics and English language arts (ELA) every year in elementary school and once in middle school
and led schools to spend “more time on reading and math…at the expense of subjects not tested,” with the most impacted discipline being “social
studies.” In fact, “71% of districts reported reducing time on non-tested subjects in elementary schools (“Ten Big Effects of the No Child Left Behind
Act on Public Schools.”, 2006). Social studies must be an equal partner of a students’ education in elementary and middle school.
As school districts revise curricula, plan professional learning, and evaluate student success on the federally-mandated mathematics and
ELA exams, attention must be paid to two interlocking factors. First, ambitious social studies instruction coincides with the literacy expectations
found in ELA classes. Secondly, districts must also recognize that social studies content provides over 60% of the background knowledge that
students need to decode what they read in ELA courses (Marzano, 2004). Social studies is a co-equal partner in preparing students for college and
career readiness and singularly responsible for laying the groundwork for the assumption of civic responsibilities.
To promote a well-rounded education, the diagram illustrates the practices distinctive to the four core content areas of social studies,
mathematics, science, and English language arts. Each discipline provides content and skills that promote rigorous thinking from a disciplinary
perspective and ensure preparation for career, college, and civic readiness. The intersection of the core disciplines indicates instructional practices
that social studies, science, mathematics, and English Language Arts share in common. The exclusion or any of these disciplines limits a students’
ability to receive a well-rounded education while making it impossible to build bridges amongst these distinct disciplines. This diagram can be used
for a multitude of purposes, but perhaps first and foremost to start a conversation of how to best prepare students for college, career, and civic
readiness.
What Instructional Practices Do English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies Share in Common?
English Language Arts Practices
Demonstrate independence in reading complex texts and
writing and speaking about them
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the
development, organization and style are appropriate to the
task, purpose and audience
Build and present knowledge through research by
integrating, comparing and synthesizing ideas from text
Use English structures to communicate context-specific
messages
Obtain, synthesize and report findings clearly and effectively
in response to task and purpose
Social Studies Practices
Draw data from, and representing data in, surveys,
maps, charts and graphs
Common Practices
Identify and draw conclusions from economic patterns
Use content-rich informational texts to build foundational
knowledge
Sourcing, contextualizing, corroborating historical
sources
Read, write and speak grounded in evidence
Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information
presented in diverse formats and media in order to
address a question or solve a problem.
Ask questions and define problems
Make sense of problems and persevere in solving
them.
Plan and carry out investigations
Reason abstractly and quantitatively
Analyze and interpret data
Model with mathematics
Develop economic models and gather data that offer
evidence in support of those models
Utilize maps, geospatial data and other graphics
showing changes in spatial patterns of human and
physical environments
Utilize spatial reasoning
Understand the political and civic actions of individuals
and organizations and how they influence one another
Math Practices
Develop claims and use evidence
Attend to precision
Communicate and critique conclusions
Look for and make use of structure
Construct explanations and design solutions
Look for and make use of regularity in repeated
reasoning
Obtain, evaluate, synthesize and communicate findings
clearly and effectively
Use technology and digital media strategically and capably
Construct and apply evidence-based arguments and critique
the reasoning of others
Science Practices
Ask questions and define problems
Develop and use models
Plan and carry out investigations
Analyze and interpret data
Use mathematics and computational thinking
Construct explanations and design solutions
Gather, reason and communicate findings
Identify and explain patterns
Determine and explain causal mechanisms and impacts
Think in scale, proportion and quantity
What Instructional Practices Do English Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies and Science Share in Common?
English Language Arts Practices
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Demonstrate independence in reading complex texts and writing and speaking about them
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience
Build and present knowledge through research by integrating, comparing and synthesizing ideas from text
Use English structures to communicate context-specific messages
Obtain, synthesize and report findings clearly and effectively in response to task and purpose
•
•
•
•
•
•
Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
Reason abstractly and quantitatively
Model with mathematics
Attend to precision
Look for and make use of structure
Look for and make use of regularity in repeated reasoning
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Draw data from, and representing data in, surveys, maps, charts and graphs
Identify and draw conclusions from economic patterns
Source, contextualize and corroborate historical sources
Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media in order to address a question or solve a problem.
Develop economic models and gather data that offer evidence in support of those models
Utilize maps, geospatial data and other graphics showing changes in spatial patterns of human and physical environments
Understand the political and civic actions of individuals and organizations and how they influence one another
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ask questions and define problems
Develop and use models
Plan and carry out investigations
Analyze and interpret data
Construct explanations and design solutions
Gather, reason and communicate findings
Determine and explain causal mechanisms and impacts
Think in scale, proportion and quantity
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Use content-rich informational texts to build foundational knowledge
Read, write and speak grounded in evidence
Ask questions and define problems
Plan and carry out investigations
Analyze and interpret data
Develop claims and use evidence
Communicate and critique conclusions
Construct explanations and design solutions
Obtain, evaluate, synthesize and communicate findings clearly and effectively
Use technology and digital media strategically and capably
Construct and apply evidence-based arguments and critique the reasoning of others
Math Practices
Social Studies Practices
Science Practices
Common Practices
What Instructional Practices Do English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies Share in Common?
English Language Arts Practices
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Demonstrate independence in reading complex texts
Math Practices
and writing and speaking about them
•
Make
sense
of
problems
and persevere in solving
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the
them.
development, organization and style are appropriate to
• Reason abstractly and quantitatively
the task, purpose and audience
• Model with mathematics
Build and present knowledge through research by
• Attend to precision
integrating, comparing and synthesizing ideas from text
• Look for and make use of structure
Use English structures to communicate context-specific
• Look for and make use of regularity in repeated
messages
reasoning
Obtain, synthesize and report findings clearly and
Common Practices
effectively in response to task and purpose
• Use content-rich informational texts to build foundational
knowledge
• Read, write and speak grounded in evidence
• Ask questions and define problems
• Plan and carry out investigations
• Analyze and interpret data
• Develop claims and use evidence
• Communicate and critique conclusions
• Construct explanations and design solutions
• Obtain, evaluate, synthesize and communicate findings clearly and
effectively
•
Use technology and digital media strategically and capably
Social Studies Practices
•
Construct and apply evidence-based arguments and critique the
Draw data from, and representing data in, surveys,
reasoning of others
maps, charts and graphs
Identify and draw conclusions from economic patterns
Source, contextualize and corroborate historical
sources
Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information
presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually,
quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a
question or solve a problem.
Develop economic models and gather data that offer
evidence in support of those models
Utilize maps, geospatial data and other graphics
showing changes in spatial patterns of human and
physical environments
Utilize spatial reasoning
Understand the political and civic actions of individuals
and organizations and how they influence one another
Science Practices
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ask questions and define problems
Develop and use models
Plan and carry out investigations
Analyze and interpret data
Use mathematics and computational thinking
Construct explanations and design solutions
Gather, reason and communicate findings
Identify and explain patterns
Determine and explain causal mechanisms and impacts
Think in scale, proportion and quantity