Using History-Based Trade Books as Catalysts for Historical Writing, Speaking, and Listening in Elementary Curricula

State and national initiatives have aligned to compel change in elementary classroom curricula and instructional practice (Council of Chief State School Officers [CCSSO], 2012; National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers [NGA & CCSSO], 2010; Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers [PARCC], 2012). An increased focus on informational texts and content area literacy are two significant changes intended to both facilitate and integrate historical thinking and historical content. For a subject that has struggled to maintain relevancy in elementary curricula, the social studies has a new, stronger position (Center on Education Policy, 2008; Fallace, Biscoe, & Perry, 2007; Holloway & Chiodo, 2009; National Council for the Social Studies [NCSS], 2010, 2013; Wilton & Bickford, 2012). Scholarship on both the cognition behind, and practical applications of, historical thinking directs teachers of adolescent students and elementary children (Bickford, 2013b; Nokes, 2011; Wineburg, 2001) yet historical thinking cannot emerge without solid curricular resources.