This study examined the effectiveness of using primary sources to support close reading in social studies among students with disabilities in grade 7 middle school resource rooms. The setting is a middle school in a suburban school district located in Western New York. Two resource rooms of 10 students with reading or writing difficulties were selected for the study. The study was conducted over a 3-month period. An interview with each student was conducted to obtain perceptions of close reading and social studies. Throughout the first month of the study, the students performed independent close reading of three social studies articles or text related to the grade 7 curriculum. At the conclusion of each close read, student comprehension was assessed with written evidence-based claims. During the second month, the students observed, read, and interpreted primary sources related to the social studies curriculum. By the third month students performed close reading of three more articles and were assessed by providing written evidence-based claims. The researcher compared assessments from months one and three to see if the primary source activities during month two supported the students' ability to close read. A second interview at the end of the study was conducted to see if the primary sources prepared students to close read a complex text. Additionally, the interview sought to understand if the students had a more positive perception of social studies when they were given the opportunity to learn from primary sources. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]