A Smarter Way to Build Disciplinary Literacy
Confident thinkers. Clear writers. Stronger classrooms.
Strengthen the Skills That Drive Social Studies Success
Skill Builders gives secondary students structured, scaffolded practice in the disciplinary literacy skills that drive real success in social studies—without adding more work for teachers. Through interactive conversations focused on United States and World History, students strengthen their ability to analyze sources, interpret visuals, and write evidence-based responses, while teachers gain real-time insight into student thinking.
Meet the Four Skill Builders Assistants
Focused Tools for Deeper Learning
Each Assistant focuses on a specific disciplinary process, giving students intentional, skill-by-skill support exactly where they need it most. Each Assistant guides students through a structured process that builds independence, from close reading to clear claims to evidence-based conclusions centered on United States and World History.
Image Analysis Assistant
Builds visual literacy through an observation-to-interpretation process grounded in the OPTIC(S) framework.
Writing Assistant
Coaches students through the ACES process to develop clear, organized, evidence-based responses
Atlas Assistant
Strengthens geographic literacy by guiding students through the process of locating, interpreting, analyzing, and applying information.
Reading Assistant
Supports students in making meaning from both traditional and non-traditional texts using a Before–During–After reading strategy .
Structured Practice Across U.S. and World History
Students engage in guided, step-by-step interactive conversations that:
- Slow down their thinking
- Prompt deeper analysis
- Reinforce academic language
- Provide targeted feedback in the moment
Skill Builders spans 12 key eras and themes in U.S. History and 12 in World History. Each theme is supported by targeted reading, writing, image, and atlas activities that build essential skills within meaningful historical contexts.
Progress You Can See and Share
Skill Builders rubrics handle all assessment automatically, providing both 3-point numerical scores and detailed narrative reports for every student conversation. Teachers can easily track individual progress over time and view aggregated classroom data, making it simple to identify trends, plan next steps, and share meaningful updates with school leaders and families.
Instructional Use Cases
With Skill Builders, leaders gain a resource that supports consistent skill development across classrooms through a variety of use cases, meeting the needs of all students. In addition to whole-class launch and progress monitoring, Skill Builders can also be used for the following.
Differentiation
Small Group
Independent Practice
Enrichment
Summer School
Frequently Asked Questions
Skill Builders is a suite of interactive, chat-based learning tools designed to strengthen core disciplinary literacy skills in middle and high school social studies. Students receive structured, scaffolded practice in reading, writing, image analysis, and geographic literacy through guided conversations aligned to proven instructional routines.
Skill Builders supports student success by giving learners consistent, structured practice in the core skills that drive achievement in social studies: reading closely, analyzing sources, interpreting visuals, and writing with clear evidence and reasoning. Through guided, step-by-step interactive conversations, students receive immediate coaching that helps them clarify their thinking, strengthen their responses, and build confidence over time.
By focusing on the process behind strong answers—not just the final product—Skill Builders helps students develop the independence and disciplinary literacy skills they need to succeed in class, on assessments, and beyond.
Skill Builders documents student interactions, giving teachers clear visibility into how students analyze prompts, use evidence, explain reasoning, and revise their thinking. This makes it easier to identify misconceptions, monitor progress, and target instruction with confidence.
Skill Builders is flexible and easy to implement. It can be used for whole-class launches, small-group intervention, independent practice, enrichment, summer learning, or ongoing progress monitoring—without adding extra grading or prep time.
Get in touch!
Please fill out the form, email sales@socialstudies.com, or call 800-421-4246 to learn more about Skill Builders.