TPS in the Classroom: Exploring Inquiry Kits for Social Studies

Inquiry Kits in the Classroom

Inquiry Kits for Social Studies are designed to be flexible so that you can incorporate all or just parts of the inquiry kits into your classroom. The inquiry kits can be used to engage students or jump-start a research project, as the focus of a classroom or homework activity, or as a warm-up or journal entry. Inquiry Kits for Social Studies can also be used alone or in conjunction with other lessons, or with one of the student Research Learning Modules.

Click on each card below, and consider different ways that the inquiry kits can support different groups of learners in your classroom.

Kristine Sieloff is the ESL Content Lead at Digital Harbor High School in Baltimore, Maryland. Play the following video to learn how she uses a culturally responsive approach and visual thinking strategies to engage her students with TPS Inquiry Kits.

 

Research Learning Modules

Research Learning Modules are another component of the Teaching with Primary Sources Special Collection. These modules were developed to help students learn about the research process through a series of self-paced modules. The different modules guide students through skills that can support the practice of inquiry, including practicing historical thinking skills, analyzing sources, making evidence-based conclusions, and creating research projects.

Each of the 12 learning modules focuses on a specific skill:

• Using Primary and Secondary Sources
• Analyzing Primary Documents
• Writing a Thesis Statement
• Creating a Research Project
• Digging for Historical Sources
• Evaluating Sources
• Using Primary Sources as Evidence
• How to Cite the Right Way
• Analyzing Political Cartoons
• Analyzing Charts, Graphs, and Tables
• Annotated Bibliography
• Media Literacy and Bias