I think the most difficult part about social studies is the content. Textbooks, like most non-fiction, are dense in information. Where students find difficulty is in deciphering what is "interesting" and what is "important." Non-fiction is just one of those things that most students don't have tons of exposure to, and they aren't as familiar with the structure (as it is far different from fiction).
I'm approaching social studies as a content area, and reading as the tool to comprehend it. What that means is that I need to teach specific reading skills, and use those skills to gather important information. How is that going you ask? Well, it has just begun. Being a first year teacher I struggle a bit with pacing, which makes me feel like things bog down. But as a whole things move quick. As we just finished our second day of swapping kids (an hour per rotation of math, science, and social studies- middle school-esque), and I am starting to look less at the clock (pacing) and worry more about engagement.
Kids are engaged for sure. I am working to circulate, checking in with kids throughout the room. I feel a bit like I am a cattle prodder though, which has me thinking about how I can be more intentional. Perhaps it is a matter of setting things up more clearly so that I can work in depth with small groups. Perhaps it is a matter of establishing centers where kids rotate through a center with me... a center where they are working on something, another center working on something, and another where they are reading with me (or working on something with me).
The bottom line is that non-fiction takes time to teach. Kids need to be familiar with the structure. They also need to know what is important, and they need to know how to record that information so that they can more efficiently synthesize it. Eventually I want to move more towards having kids recording questions, and working them towards searching for answers and information. It is a work in progress.
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