Elementary education has traditionally prioritized English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics, often sidelining social studies. However, recent research highlights the crucial role of social studies instruction in developing strong reading skills.
Despite mounting pressure to improve literacy rates, many schools continue to dedicate limited instructional time to social studies. Yet, studies show that integrating social studies into the curriculum can significantly enhance reading comprehension, vocabulary development, and critical thinking. This post provides insights into how social studies instruction builds background knowledge, strengthens literacy skills, and improves reading comprehension in elementary students.
Research-Proven Benefits of Social Studies for Reading Development
Recent studies have dramatically reshaped our understanding of literacy development, showing that social studies instruction plays a crucial role in strengthening reading comprehension. While schools often increase ELA instruction to improve literacy rates, research suggests that allocating more time to social studies is actually more effective.
An analysis of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, conducted by Adam Tyner and Sarah Kabourek and published in Social Education, found that social studies has a clear, positive, and statistically significant effect on reading improvement. In contrast, additional time spent on ELA instruction alone showed no measurable improvement in reading skills.
How Social Studies Strengthens Literacy Skills
Social studies instruction enhances literacy by building critical background knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension skills—all essential for reading success. When students engage with history, geography, and civics, they develop the ability to analyze texts, draw connections between concepts, and retain new information more effectively.
A study spanning first grade through fifth grade found that students who received an additional 30 minutes of social studies instruction daily outperformed their peers by 15 percent of a standard deviation on fifth-grade reading assessments. These benefits extended across all student groups but were particularly significant for students from lower-income backgrounds and English language learners (ELLs).
Supporting English Language Learners
As Paul Fitchett, professor of curriculum and teaching at Auburn University’s College of Education, explains, “Understanding who you are and your place in society, that’s not something that just teenagers are thinking about. You can’t be a good citizen without reading or mathematics. Those things matter. And it also matters that people have a sense of self, and social studies provides those opportunities.”
While all students gain from increased social studies instruction, certain groups experience particularly strong improvements in literacy outcomes:
- Students from lower-income families: Increased exposure to social studies helps bridge vocabulary gaps and strengthens overall reading comprehension.
- English language learners (ELLs): ELLs demonstrated larger reading gains from additional social studies instruction compared to their native English-speaking peers, likely due to the subject’s emphasis on language development and contextual understanding.
- Students with lower initial reading ability: Research indicates that social studies instruction supports struggling readers by providing the knowledge and context needed to make sense of complex texts.
How Schools Can Prioritize Social Studies Without Sacrificing Literacy Goals
Despite the evidence supporting the role of social studies in literacy, many elementary classrooms allocate minimal time to the subject. The focus on standardized testing in ELA and math often leads educators to deprioritize social studies, leaving students without the content knowledge necessary for literacy growth.
To address this imbalance, schools and districts can take the following steps:
- Integrate Social Studies into Literacy Blocks: Use history and civics texts to teach reading comprehension skills while simultaneously building background knowledge.
- Adopt Knowledge-Building Curricula: Utilize high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) that embed social studies content within reading programs.
- Incorporate Inquiry-Based Learning: Engage students in discussions, debates, and primary source analysis to deepen comprehension and critical thinking.
- Train Educators to Teach Content-Rich Literacy: Provide professional development that helps teachers integrate social studies instruction into literacy frameworks effectively.
Expanding access to social studies in elementary classrooms requires intentional planning and strategic implementation, but the benefits are clear—when students engage with rich, knowledge-building content, they become stronger readers, critical thinkers, and more informed citizens. Explore more strategies for overcoming instructional barriers.
The Path Forward: Rebalancing Literacy Instruction
The research is clear: social studies is a powerful driver of literacy development. By prioritizing social studies instruction, educators can equip students with the knowledge and skills needed for academic success across all subjects.
What is the connection between science instruction and literacy development? The next blog in this series explores how inquiry-based learning fosters reading comprehension and critical thinking.
This post is part of a four-part blog series—see the other parts here:
- The Missing Piece in Literacy Instruction: Why Social Studies and Science Matter
- How Science Instruction Improves Literacy in K-5 Classrooms
- Making Time for Social Studies and Science Without Sacrificing Literacy
Want to learn more? Download TCI’s free eBook, Rethinking Literacy in K-5 Classrooms: How Social Studies and Science Drive Academic Success, to understand the benefits of knowledge-building curricula, the role of high-quality instructional materials (HQIM), and actionable strategies for schools.
