In the US, there‘s been an interesting debate around the teaching of social studies (more commonly known as the humanities here) & its importance to knowledge & the related importance of this to reading development. A recent study by The Fordham Institute ( @educationgadfly) /1

has claimed that increasing the amount of time teaching of social studies/the humanities matched improved reading scores, ‘Social Studies Instruction & Reading Comprehension’:

https://fordhaminstitute.org/sites/default/files/publication/pdfs/09242020-social-studies-instruction-and-reading-comprehension.pdf

Reading expert, Professor Tim Shanahan, ( @ReadingShanahan ) responded with /2

a critique of the Fordham study, emphasising the various gaps in the evidence, whilst not dismissing the importance of social studies, ‘Here’s why I wouldn’t teach less reading to improve social studies’:

https://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/heres-why-i-wouldnt-teach-less-reading-to-improve-social-studies

For me, this exchange is useful in revealing /3

the complex challenge of how to boost reading comprehension, along with how to develop a balanced, rich curriculum that feeds that development. It also reveals that importance of scrutinising the evidence the devils in the details. /END