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In past posts, I've promoted the idea that teaching more social studies in elementary school can help reading scores. Data for this comes from Adam Tyner and Sarah Kabourek's study, "Social Studies Instruction and Reading Comprehension: Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study," published by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute (September 2020). That study suggests
that shifting twenty, thirty, or even forty minutes away from less effective ELA activities (such as practicing comprehension skills) and reinvesting that time to learn more about geography, history, civics, and the like will improve students’ reading ability. Just as important, additional social studies time will probably also help students develop the strong knowledge base needed for a successful transition to middle school.
According to this study, social studies instruction in elementary school averages 28 minutes a day even though Council of Chief State School Officers (e.g., state superintendents of instruction) recommend elementary classrooms dedicate at least 45 minutes to social studies each day.
I'm almost positive that most Montana school districts are not teaching social studies the recommended 45 minutes a day. In fact, I suspect that many districts don't even teach social studies 28 minutes a day. But I'd like to know the current state of our state. Will you take this survey, which focuses on how many minutes a day Montana schools are teaching social studies in grades 1-5?
I promise it won't take much time (and if you are interested, I'll share the results), so I hope you'll help me out! And to sweeten the pot, anyone who completes the survey will be entered into a drawing for a $100 gas card.
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