The purpose of this study was to answer the following research questions: (1) Do secondary social studies pre-service teachers incorporate literacy strategies in their work samples during student teaching? (2) To what extent and under what conditions do secondary social studies pre-service teachers use higher levels of literacy strategies in their work samples? Findings indicated that all of the pre-service teachers used literacy strategies to varying degrees but the literacy strategies they used were embedded in content and looked different from the strategies that were taught in their content area literacy class. The authors also learned that pre-service teachers used higher-level literacy strategies, and these levels varied by the classroom context. Classes with higher levels of poverty and racial and linguistic diversity were taught lower-level strategies, and students in higher SES schools were taught higher-level strategies. The authors are pleased that the pre-service teachers are applying literacy strategies, and yet they are concerned that they are propagating the kinds of low expectations that have existed in high-poverty classrooms for decades. Findings have prompted them to redouble efforts to educate a new generation of teachers who are better prepared to successfully teach all students in all classrooms. (Contains 5 tables.)