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

Abstract

PurposeElementary 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/approachThis 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.FindingsFindings 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/valueThe 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.