Despite increasing expectations for student proficiency in content area reading (e.g., Common Core State Standards), social studies text continues to present unique challenges to students who struggle with reading; for example, textbook readability is often at least two grade levels above the grade for which it is intended (Berkeley et al., 2016; Jitendra et al., 2001). Given the shift toward greater use of demanding informational text around fourth grade, students who struggle with reading stand to benefit from direct teacher support in reading and comprehending social studies texts.Research suggests that one such way to support student learning in the content areas is in the form of comprehension instruction, which includes practices like direct instruction, modeling, collaborative strategy use, guided practice, and independent strategy use (e.g., Duke & Pearson, 2009; Vacca, Vacca, & Mraz, 2016). Moreover, it is important to consider the ways in which classroom factors like these might promote or undermine student engagement in social studies learning activities (Skinner & Pitzer, 2012). The purpose of this study was to systematically observe the use of text materials and the extent to which student reading of those texts is supported through comprehension instruction. The relationship between these classroom-level factors and student engagement was also explored, including closer examination of these relationships among struggling readers. Descriptive and multilevel analyses were used to address the research questions and quantitative variables of interest. Across the fifty fifth-grade classrooms observed, reading comprehension strategies were frequently incorporated throughout social studies instruction. However, comprehension instruction was largely student-centered in nature (collaborative practice with a peer, independent practice) and rarely included teacher-centered practices such as direct instruction or modeling of comprehension strategies. A strong relationship was not found between the reading-related variables of the present study and student engagement as hypothesized, though an unanticipated significant interaction effect on student engagement was identified for text readability level and comprehension instruction. Results are discussed in terms of the current literature on content area instruction and student engagement, and the implications for both research and practice are described.
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