Since education reform efforts have long focused on reading and mathematics, the social studies classroom has been a target of remedial services--with children being removed from social studies to gain additional support in reading and math. As a result, many children spend years in school with little to no exposure to the social studies, despite the promising literacy practices that can be integrated into the rich content of history, civics, economics, and other subjects. The author's own observations of a void in high-quality writing among her students led her to action research that attempted to integrate more writing-focused activities into the curriculum of her 10th grade U.S. government and politics course. When teachers incorporate writing regularly in the social studies classroom, students not only become better prepared for reading and writing assessments, but gain a deeper comprehension of social studies content. (Contains 4 figures and 4 notes.)