Israel, Social Studies and Literacy - The Holistic Approach

In the recent publication “Literacy in Social Studies: Materials Review Rubric” by inquireED, social studies is shown to provide a powerful opportunity to develop students’ literacy skills while building core knowledge in history, civics, economics, and geography. Resdesigning lessons holistically is a net gain in time! While traditional school systems separate literacy skills from social studies in student and teacher schedules at the expense of other educational priorities, multidiscilplinary integration shows that literacy skills are enhanced when contextualized. Using the rubric effectively means more time can be alloted to Israel education, while boosting literacy and social studies learning.

Consider: How nimble and flexible is your school system in changing traditional school models to address the needs of students in the most effective and impactful way?

Imagine being able to gain just two or three hours a week by rethinking the way discplines and skills can be woven together. What could you do with that time? What would you prioritize?

Rethinking the way we teach requires creativity, ingenuity and collaboration among teachers, but just imagine the benefits for students once we stop thinking about what we need to teach and start thinking about what students could experience.