A detailed curricular loop that enables students to regularly engage in an inquiry presents a meaningful way of teaching hard history. 

This article outlines a project-based learning approach developed by one of the authors, a veteran Seattle teacher, for a high school government course.

Three key discussion options offer social studies teachers a choice of approaches for navigating controversial issues in the classroom.

Properly constructed simulations enable teachers to practice pedagogical skills for leading classroom discussions on politically fraught issues.

How many times have we teachers thrown up our arms in exasperation and wanted to inquire of a student or a group of students, “What were you thinking?” How many times a day do we advise our students to “make good choices” and then cringe when they don’t? All too often, students don’t, or can’t, simply because they don’t know how. Although we know that our students are constantly involved in a thinking process, we tend to take that process for granted, rationalizing that thinking is simply something that everybody does. The term thinking skills is itself broad and ambiguous. Turner refers to…

We can disrupt inequity in the classroom by generating a more expansive understanding of what and who counts as worthy.

Cooperative learning stimulates student engagement and spurs deep thinking and classroom discussion.

When teachers create lessons that include historical sources, it’s important to pay attention to source choice and source attribution. 

The specific scaffolds and strategy instructions outlined in this article will help students engage in the complex task of historical inquiry. 

Engaging students in inquiry at regular intervals, or looping inquiry, within and across grade levels promotes deeper content knowledge and skills over time.