SOCIAL STUDIES AND STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: CURRENT STATUS OF INSTRUCTION AND A REVIEW OF INTERVENTION RESEARCH WITH MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Inclusion, state mandated achievement tests, current instructional materials and practice and the academic needs of an increasingly diverse student population have converged necessitating an in-depth review of instructional strategy research accomplished with students with mild disabilities. After confirming the value of social studies content this chapter provides context for the exploration of instructional strategies for social studies instruction by first investigating research on social studies textbooks, teacher use of these texts and some student characteristics that make using these materials difficult. Background and implications of mandated assessments and the inclusion movement is provided. A review of intervention strategy research concludes with a discussion on the implications for instruction. Suggestions on how to embed strategies into ongoing daily instruction are provided.