This document discusses developing inquiry skills in social studies. It explains that inquiry involves investigating the social world and proposing explanations based on observations. Inquiry skills are grouped into five main areas: data gathering, organizing, processing, communicating, and reflecting. Effective teaching of inquiry skills involves modeling skills, encouraging curiosity, and respect for evidence. Lessons should focus on teaching a specific skill through concrete experiences, meaningful practice, and transferring skills to new situations. Planning lessons involves identifying the key skill and appropriate activities to teach and assess that skill.

1. Developing Inquiry
Skills

2. Learning involves developing
thinking, or inquiry, skills.
• Inquiry involves the different ways we study
our social world and propose explanations
based on our observations. (verb)
• Inquiry also refers to the activities students
engage in as they develop their own
knowledge through investigation. (noun)
• The explanation students develop
through investigation is the social studies
“idea” or “knowledge” learned in the
lesson.

3. Inquiry...
• involves student interaction.
• leads to knowledge that is developed
through experiences.
• involves prior knowledge and information
that is used to construct new social studies
knowledge.
• skills do not automatically transfer from one
unit or lesson to the next. (Actually, skills
don’t automatically transfer from one
teacher’s room to the next.)

4. Early Inquiry Skills
• People use their five senses to investigate
the environment: sight, hearing, taste, touch,
and smell. This is especially true with babies
and young children.
• Early experiences help form prior knowledge
and attitudes towards learning.

5. Examples of Inquiry Skills
• observing
• classifying
• estimating
• using maps
• inferring
• predicting
• isolating and
using variables
• interpreting data

6. Inquiry Skills: Five Main Areas
Inquiry skills are grouped into five main areas
due to their functions:
•Data Gathering Skills
•Data Organizing Skills
•Data Processing Skills
•Communicating Skills
•Reflecting Skills

7. Reflecting
• Relatively new function of inquiry skills
• Metacognition
• Builds our inquiry abilities so our next inquiry
is more thoroughly planned and carried out.

8. • Learning begins with data gathering.
Students need skills in order to gather data.
What are some examples of skills needed to
gather data?
• Students must be able to organize the data
they gather or else it will have little meaning.
What skills help us organize data?
• Students process data into concepts and
generalizations after it is organized. What
skills allow us to process data?

9. • Communicating is what defines us as social
beings. Communication is written, spoken, or
signed.
• Communication takes place both formally
and informally. What are some
communication skills?
• Reflecting occurs in all parts of inquiry
learning and builds our inquiry abilities so
our next inquiry is more thoroughly planned
and carried out. What are some reflecting
skills?

10. Observations
• Observations lead to statements of fact.
They are done directly and indirectly through
the use of the senses. You should be able
to identify the sense that is used to make an
observation.

11. Inferences
• Inferences are based on observations but
extend beyond what is observed by the
senses. Inferences may or may not be
supported. Inferences are often done
through classifying, predicting, and
generalizing.

12. Hypothesis
• A hypothesis describes the relationship
between two or more variables constructed
for the purpose of investigating and testing.
• A hypothesis can be proved only if ALL
possible cases are investigated and tested.
• The hypothesis is developed as a response
to a specific inquiry. Students determine if
what they have investigated supports their
hypothesis.

13. Effective teachers:
• Model and Encourage:
– curiosity
– respect for evidence
– flexibility
– responsibility to others and the environment
– appreciation of the social and natural world

14. Curiosity
• Teachers promote curiosity by welcoming
students’ questions.
• Curiosity is wanting to know.
• Wanting to know stimulates efforts to find
out.
• Teachers need to create and encourage
curiosity.

15. Respect for Evidence
• It is extremely difficult for people to
accept evidence that conflicts with
what you think you already know. (This
goes for adults, too.)

16. When involved in inquiry:
• students need to
– reserve judgements
– be flexible
– respect the environment and others
– persevere
– consider conflicting evidence
– be open-minded

17. Integrative Thinking Skills
• Critical thinking involves having good
reasons for what you believe.
• Problem solving and decision making involve
investigation and creative thinking.
• Three strategies to teach for thinking:
– questioning
– structuring so there are interactions with
other students and with the environment
– modeling

18. My personal thoughts on
these three strategies….
• Questioning: This can be the most powerful
strategy a teacher uses IF DONE
CORRECTLY. Need I say more?
• Structuring: This is why I abhor silent lunch.
Make and take every opportunity to have
your students interact with their social world.
• Modeling: Reminds me of the Chinese
Proverb – “Tell me and I forget. Show me
and I may remember. Involve me and I’ll
understand.” (Definitely, model and then
some.)

19. Teaching An Inquiry Skill
Lesson
Four major characteristics:
– primary focus is teaching a skill
– concrete experiences with the skill
– use of the skill in a meaningful manner
– extensive practice of the skill in new
situations
In Lit Block, you should have learned about
using the I do, we do, you do (modeling,
scaffolding, release) strategy. It’s the same
with teaching ANY skills based lesson.

20. Planning an Inquiry Lesson
• identify the key skill
• write the objectives
• decide the activities and sequence them
• develop means of assessment
• obtain the necessary materials
• determine grouping

21. Hierarchy of Inquiry
Skills
• early elementary grades focus on
basic skills
– observation
– classification
– communication
– measurement
• middle school level focuses on
students’ independent use of
basic skills and facilitates the
learning of integrative inquiry
skills
The same skills are
taught each year but
need to develop to a
higher level and use
each year.

22. An Inquiry Skill Lesson
Requires...
• Relating the new skill to prerequisite skills
• modeling the new skill
• becoming aware of its components
• practicing and transferring it sufficiently so
that the skill becomes automatic

23. Don’t put the cart in front of the horse.
Set your students up for success.
First:
Provide students with
the skills (inquiry skills,
thinking skills, process
skills, etc.) they need.
Then:
Students can do
generalization lessons,
problem-based learning,
project based learning,
critical thinking, and
other investigative
lessons.

24. Reference:
• Sunal, C. S. & Haas, M. E. (2016). Social studies for
the elementary and middle school grades: A
constructivist approach. Boston, MA:
Pearson Education.