Fourth-graders' reading, thinking, and writing about historical sources

Abstract

Purpose

Elementary classroom teachers can infuse social studies into the curriculum by integrating history, civics and English/language arts. Elementary teachers can bundle close reading, critical thinking and text-based writing within historical inquiries using accessible primary sources with engaging secondary sources.

Design/methodology/approach

This article reports the successes and struggles of one fourth-grade teacher's theory-into-practice interdisciplinary unit. The month-long, history-based inquiry integrated close readings of primary and secondary sources to scaffold and refine students' text-based writing about the oft-ignored interconnections between two Civil Rights icons who never met.

Findings

Findings included the import of historical inquiries within the elementary grades, students' abilities to scrutinize and extract meaning from dozens of sources and the value of revision for text-based writing, particularly its impact on the clarity, criticality and complexity of students' writing.

Originality/value

The inquiry's length, use of repeated readings, bulk of curricular resources and integration of revision are each comparably unique within the elementary social studies research literature.

Citation

Bickford, J.H., Clabough, J. and Taylor, T.N. (2020), "Fourth-graders' reading, thinking, and writing about historical sources", Social Studies Research and Practice, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 57-82. https://doi.org/10.1108/SSRP-07-2019-0039