It has been my experience that most teachers want students to be thinking. So what would that look like in a social studies classroom? Reflecting on that question could be pretty revealing. I say it would look like students grappling to answer compelling questions by investigating sources. In essence- inquiry. Several years ago someone shared a great resource with me of inquiry lessons called the New York toolbox.  I want to share with you that those lessons have now been expanded by teachers utilizing the C3 framework created by the National Council of Social Studies.

I encourage you to browse this FREE resource.

You can search for lessons by subject and by grade, even elementary grades.

These inquiry based lessons are available for teachers to copy, remix, transform, or just build upon. While most of the lessons align to New York standards, I’m sure you will find some overlap with the TEKS. After all, learning about the Enlightenment, U.S. Constitution, Black Death, French Revolution, American Civil War, or the Civil Rights Movement is pretty much the same everywhere.  Eventually, you may even join the INQUIRY REVOLUTION and create your own inquiry design model lessons. At the very least, get those students thinking.

 

Photo courtesy of Dominik VO on Unsplash