Research-Based Lessons That Support Student Independent Reading in Social Studies

High school social studies teachers face unique challenges in helping their students learn independently from text in their discipline. In this article, a set of research-based practices that couple independent student reading with high-quality instruction proven to improve content learning for high school nonnative English speakers is provided. Specific examples of each practice within a social studies unit are used to illustrate how to promote independent student reading and understanding that is integrated with the content.