Historical Literacy Research for Students with and at Risk for Learning Disabilities: A Systematic Review

Abstract

A systematic review of Historical Literacy (HL) interventions conducted during the past 17 years (2000–2017) with students with and at risk for LD is presented in this article. HL is defined as the skills required to reason, read, write, and learn with historical evidence from the past. The review begins with a description of reforms in history education and summarizes more recent changes in legislation. Next, HL standards that pose challenges for struggling learners are discussed, and findings from HL interventions are presented. Results are synthesized and reported according to three themes that align with the CCSS for literacy in history/social studies: (1) disciplinary reading, (2) historical writing, and (3) classroom research projects. Instructional suggestions and directions for future research are discussed.