Want Better Readers? Teach More Social Studies
A federal study following 18,000 kids found that more time on social studies — not more reading class — is what's linked to stronger reading. Here's the evidence, and why it matters for civics.
June 22, 2026 · 3 min read
Here is a finding that should reshape how we think about reading instruction: the most effective way to build stronger readers may not be more reading class — it may be more social studies.
Elementary schools pour time into reading. In a nationally representative federal study following more than 18,000 children from kindergarten through fifth grade, students averaged about two hours a day on English language arts — roughly four times the 28 minutes a day spent on social studies. The assumption baked into that schedule is simple: more reading class makes better readers.
More reading class didn't move the needle
It didn't hold up. When researchers Adam Tyner and Sarah Kabourek examined which subjects predicted reading growth, extra time on ELA showed no measurable link to better reading — and neither did extra time on math, science, or non-core subjects like art and PE.
More social studies did
Social studies was the one subject with a clear, positive, statistically significant association with reading growth. Students who got about 30 more minutes of social studies a day in grades 1–5 — the gap between the least and most social-studies-rich classrooms — scored roughly 15 percent of a standard deviation higher on the fifth-grade reading test, even after controlling for kindergarten reading ability and a range of student, teacher, and school factors.
Why content beats "skills"
The likely reason, the report argues, is that reading comprehension isn't a free-floating skill you can drill in the abstract — it rides on background knowledge. As cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham puts it (quoted in the report), reading tests are really knowledge tests in disguise.
Reading tests are really knowledge tests in disguise.
A student who has learned what the Berlin Wall was can understand a passage that mentions it; a student who can only sound out the words cannot. Social studies — history, geography, and civics — is where a lot of that world-knowledge gets built. Content is comprehension.
It helps the students who need it most
The benefit wasn't even across the board — it was largest for girls and for students from lower-income and non-English-speaking homes, around 17 to 21 percent of a standard deviation for the bottom three income quartiles, and near zero for the wealthiest. In other words, more social studies time doesn't just lift reading; it narrows the gaps.
What this means for civics
Civics is social studies. We already know that civic knowledge runs thin — most students don't reach proficiency on the national civics benchmark, and that same foundational knowledge underpins the U.S. citizenship test. This study adds a second reason to teach it well: doing so appears to make kids better readers, too. Teaching civics isn't a detour from literacy — it may be one of the surest paths to it.
That's the bet behind Flying Colors: turn the civics question bank into content kids actually retain — knowledge that compounds, in citizenship and in reading alike.
Sources
Frequently asked
- Does more time in reading class improve reading?
- In this nationally representative study, additional ELA time was not associated with measurable reading gains — and neither was extra math, science, or non-core time. Only additional social studies time showed a clear, positive, statistically significant link to reading growth.
- How much did social studies time matter?
- Students who received about 30 more minutes of social studies per day in grades 1–5 scored roughly 15 percent of a standard deviation higher on the fifth-grade reading assessment, after controlling for kindergarten reading and student, teacher, and school factors. It is a correlational finding from observational data, not a controlled experiment.
- Which students benefited most?
- The gains were largest for girls and for students from lower-income and non-English-speaking homes — roughly 17 to 21 percent of a standard deviation for the bottom three income quartiles, and near zero for the wealthiest — suggesting more social studies time can help narrow literacy gaps.
Turn civics into practice that sticks.
Flying Colors helps students build real recall of how government works — short lessons, memory hooks, games, and review that keeps coming back.
See how it works