Most of the reading that happens in my field of the social sciences in secondary schools comes from textbooks. Textbooks can be wonderful, but to me, they should never be assigned to be read cover to cover. The most life-changing reading I have done in my discipline has been the reading of memoirs or personal accounts of historical events. If the accounts exist, it is fascinating to see multiple accounts of the same event. I am not saying that reading in my discipline has to be the most rigorous thing my students have ever done, but I am saying that difficult reading that has real meaning will be more useful to my students' learning than easy reading that has little real meaning. Historical fiction can be used very effectively in the classroom as long as teachers make sure to explain which parts of the story are the made-up parts. I hope that my enthusiasm about these primary source documents and historical reading will help my students be more excited to read and to learn. However, I am realistic and I know in my experience there have been many teachers that were excited about their field and the reading in it and I just didn't get the memo. Other ways to encourage students to read is to make sure they know how the reading relates to them. Every opportunity to make a connection from a historical character to one or all of my students will be taken.
The writing traditionally done in the social sciences is persuasive writing. For example, "Write a three page essay outlining the causes of the Civil War. Did these causes warrant a war? Argue your point." This type of writing can allow teachers to make sure students understand concepts, however, it often does not allow for historical empathy (understanding multiple perspectives about an event and understanding the places and lines of thought they were operating from). I enjoyed being in social studies classrooms growing up in which I was allowed to express my understanding of a concept or event through alternative methods such as reenactments, projects, or debates. I believe that when I employ the use of these types of assessments in my classroom, they will allow my students to learn more deeply than they would. If you have to reenact a historical event, you really have to know about it and you really have to do your research and reading.