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Is writing in social studies dead? Teaching writing in the age of AI

Becca Horowitz

AI can generate an essay in seconds and that impacts how students approach writing assignments. Our team has been thinking a lot about what this means for social studies classrooms, which led us to ask a big question in a new blog post: Is writing in social studies dead?

We don’t think it is, but we do think it’s changing. Writing still matters because it’s how students test claims, work through evidence, and clarify their thinking. At the same time, AI is forcing us to be more intentional about the kinds of writing tasks we assign and what we want students to learn from them. Check out our thinking, and some concrete strategies and approaches teachers can try to keep writing human-centered.

We’d love to hear from you:

-What has it been like to teach and read student writing this year?
-How are you helping students develop writing and thinking skills in the age of AI?
-What writing tasks are working well, or feeling overdue for a rethink?

Read the blog, then join the discussion and share what’s happening in your classroom.

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  • Thank you for this piece. It really captures the tension many of us are sitting with right now as history teachers—especially around AI, writing, and what we’re actually asking students to do when we assign writing.

    I don’t think writing in social studies is dead either, but I do agree that AI is reshaping what meaningful writing looks like and how students engage with it. The idea that writing is a thinking process, not just a product, resonated deeply with me. That framing has helped me move away from asking, “How do I stop AI use?” and toward “What kinds of thinking do I want students to practice that AI can’t replace?”

    For some context, after a decade in elementary administration and curriculum development, I returned to the classroom this year as a first-time high school history teacher. Teaching has always been part of my work, but stepping into secondary content and older learners has stretched my thinking—especially around AI and historical reasoning. I’m still learning alongside my students.

    One shift I’ve made is grounding writing and note-taking in a CAPPS framework (Context, Audience, Perspective, Purpose, Synthesis). Students use it not just to organize information, but to interrogate narratives and look for what I call the “CAP”—the omissions, half-truths, and biases embedded in historical documents and dominant accounts. That lens has been especially powerful in an AI-rich environment, where responses can sound polished but often flatten complexity or perspective.

    During our French Revolution unit, for example, students completed a fully unplugged escape room built around document analysis. Each station required short written responses tied to performance task questions, and students had to annotate sources, justify claims, and revise interpretations to move forward. The goal wasn’t to avoid technology for its own sake, but to create conditions where thinking and sense-making were unavoidable. The quality of students’ final written arguments and discussions reflected that investment.

    What your post helped me name is that AI doesn’t eliminate the need for writing—it pushes us to be more intentional about why students are writing and what kind of thinking that writing is meant to surface. Summary is easy now. Analysis, synthesis, and perspective-taking are not—and those feel like the heart of social studies.

    I appreciate this piece for opening space for that kind of reflection. I’m still finding my rhythm with all of this, but conversations like this one feel like the right place to start.

  • in reply to Charlene Dixon

      Thank you so much for sharing your reflections and practice. How cool that you're viewing your experience this year as a chance to learn alongside students. I think that's how great teachers approach their craft, and it must be encouraging for students to see you model that mindset.

    The CAPPS framework sounds like a meaningful way to draw out and organize student thinking, and I imagine they love the chance to name the "CAP" subtext. What a great way to make historical thinking skills feel relevant to the critical thinking students already bring to their daily lives.

    I appreciate the conversation, too. We always love to hear from teachers and see (anonymous!) student work if anyone is up for sharing. Thanks for contributing to our community.

Reply
  • in reply to Charlene Dixon

      Thank you so much for sharing your reflections and practice. How cool that you're viewing your experience this year as a chance to learn alongside students. I think that's how great teachers approach their craft, and it must be encouraging for students to see you model that mindset.

    The CAPPS framework sounds like a meaningful way to draw out and organize student thinking, and I imagine they love the chance to name the "CAP" subtext. What a great way to make historical thinking skills feel relevant to the critical thinking students already bring to their daily lives.

    I appreciate the conversation, too. We always love to hear from teachers and see (anonymous!) student work if anyone is up for sharing. Thanks for contributing to our community.

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