Teachers College Press Literacy and History in Action: Immersive Approaches to Disciplinary Thinking, Grades 5-12 (Language & Literacy) (Language and Literacy Series)

This book offers a solid research and theoretical foundation for combining social studies and literacy instruction. A collaboration between a literacy scholar, two classroom teachers, and a school librarian, this volume also shows teachers how to engage middle and high school students in historical inquiry that incorporates literacy skills like reading complex texts and writing elaborated arguments. The authors present extended simulation activities that immerse students in three eras of U.S. history: European incursions into North America, pre-Revolutionary War colonialism, and the Civil War and Reconstruction. These simulations allow learners to experience these major periods of U.S. history while they discuss, read, and write in ways that align closely with the Common Core State Standards. The final chapter guides teachers in constructing their own classroom simulations and identifies useful resources. Review Literacy and History in Social Action is an excellent book for teacher educators and teachers who are looking for an illustrative and detailed example of how social studies teachers can implement creative, innovative, and comprehensive content area literacies in the classroom. McCann, D'Angelo, Galas, and Greska have developed an outstanding resource dedicated to designing instruction that is provocative, stimulating, and purposeful in honing the thinking, reading, writing, and speaking skills secondary students can succeed in. --Teachers College Record About the Author Thomas M. McCann is a professor of English at Northern Illinois University. His books include Transforming Talk into Text. Rebecca D'Angelo teaches 5th grade at Edison Elementary School in Elmhurst, Illinois and serves on various school district curriculum development teams. Nancy Galas supervises student teachers and conducts professional development workshops nationwide. Mary Greska is a school library media specialist at Edison Elementary School, Elmhurst, Illinois.