Literacy Matters Vol. 23 Winter 2023

Questioning to Facilitate Reactionary Reading in the Social Studies Classroom

by Timothy Lintner

Additionally, many social studies teachers, concerned that teaching reading strategies are an inefficient means of teaching content knowledge, may resist reducing time spent on content instruction by increasing reading instruction (Moje, 2008; Reidel & Draper, 2011). As a result, many social studies teachers often emphasize lectures, minimize text usage, or assign reading tasks with little regard for student ability or interest (Bolinger &Warren, 2007; Russell, 2010). When social studies teachers do require students to read, it is expected to be done independently with little to no explicit support (McCully & Osman, 2015).

Educators of all grades often struggle to engage readers in their classrooms. This is particularly true in social studies classrooms as the textbook, rife with ill-defined concepts and typically void of relevance, is the dominant method of content conveyance. Students become deferential readers, allowing the teacher and the textbook author(s) liberty to assign meaning to what they read. The first step in moving students from deferential to responsive or reactionary readers – whereby they engage and interact with the text through direct participation – is to ask questions. This article will provide ways in which teachers can use three questioning scaffolds – pre- questioning, context questioning, and Questioning the Author – to facilitate reactionary reading in the social studies classroom. Questioning to Facilitate Reactionary Reading in the Social Studies Classroom Educators of all grades and content areas likely share the same concerns when it comes to reading: Students struggle with decoding, are not familiar with text features (headings, supporting graphics, bold or underlined words or terms), have difficulty contextualizing key vocabulary, experience a disconnect between reading and their lived experiences and, essentially, find reading to be rather boring. Worse yet, some students do not read at all (Coddington & Guthrie, 2009; Gilson, Beach, & Cleaver, 2018; Pflaum & Bishop, 2004). This begs the simple yet often elusive question: How can educators engage, motivate, and facilitate responsive, reactionary reading, particularly in the social studies classroom? The Textbook and the Teacher Though diverse instructional methods and materials have been proven to enrich and engage students in social studies classrooms, the textbook remains the dominant means of content conveyance (Alexander-Shea, 2011; Brugar &Whitlock, 2020; Levstik, 2008; Trout & Samb, 2020). Social studies textbooks are rife with both unfamiliar vocabulary and complex sentence structures. With general readability levels often far above grade level use, it is no wonder that many students find social studies textbook reading difficult, disengaging, personally irrelevant, and of questionable benefit (Berkeley, King-Sears, Vilbas, & Conklin, 2016; Fordham, Wellman, & Sandman, 2002; Shanahan & Shanahan, 2008; Ye ari & van der Broek, 2011). Indeed, the social studies teacher’s role in facilitating text based comprehension and engagement cannot be ignored. Many social studies teachers, particularly those at the middle and secondary levels, are, admittedly, both ill-prepared and ill equipped to facilitate strategic, sustained, and engaging literacy practices (Cantrell, Burns, & Callaway, 2008; Ness, 2009).

Literacy Matters General Articles

FromDeferential to Reactionary Reading Imagine this scenario:

Teacher: OK, so last night’s homework was to read the passage in the textbook that talked about the internment of Japanese Americans duringWorldWar II. Not only was this an issue of civil rights – remember these were American citizens – there is also the issue of displacement. Being told, at amoment’s notice, to gather up all your worldly belongings, hop on a bus or train, and being sent off to some of the most inhospitable terrain. Not good. This was clearly one of the darkest moments in American history. I hope the readingmade this clear to you. Unfortunately, this scenario is frequently played out in social studies classrooms. Students are assigned textbook reading. The teacher summarizes the reading, possibly supplementing it through additional context. Emphasis is on form (the content) and not function (student inquiry and engagement). Students sit passively, having learned that reading is a waste of time – the teacher will tell themwhat they need to know. Newkirk (1986) refers to this as deferential literacy, whereby the apparent (and unquestioned) omniscience of both the textbook authors and the teacher her/themselves reduces students to accepting perspective as truth with little interest in or opportunity for engagement through inquiry and discussion. With a shrug of the shoulders, students concede, “If it is in the textbook, and my teacher says it, that’s good enough for me.” Such blind deference contradicts Dewey’s (1916) belief that healthy democracies are rooted in differences articulated through civic discourse and debate. Reactionary Reading and Social Studies Reactionary reading, defined as participatory engagement evidenced in and through both emotional and active response, is

Literacy Matters | Volume 22 • Winter 2023 | 27 |

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