ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the development of the information skills most essential in the social studies. Reading and writing have long been important and necessary skills for learning in the social studies. Many types of activities and techniques can be used for developing vocabulary meaning prior to reading. Every middle and high school teacher must be, in some sense, a reading teacher. Reading and writing activities or assignments in social studies may take several forms. Social studies teachers are instrumental in helping students acquire the specific reading skills needed in the content area. There are a variety of strategies and techniques for helping students read social studies-related material. Many students have difficulty reading social studies materials simply because they do not make effective use of question clues that could help them be more purposeful in their reading and more accurate and correct in the way they respond.
