One Stop Teacher Shop

Ideas and resources for Teachers | Teacher Blog

  • Blog
    • Math
    • Reading
    • Writing
    • Classroom
      Management
    • Technology
  • Shop
  • Freebie Vault
  • Planners
    • Teacher Planner
    • Life Planner
  • Log In

How to Teach the Standards through Social Studies Inquiry Circles

By OneStopTeacherShop

Need some social studies project ideas? Learn how to make Social Studies more engaging for your students with inquiry circles. Inquiry circles reinforce social studies standards while teaching the research process.

Over the past few years, I have been incorporating inquiry circles into my classroom through Social Studies and Science. Inquiry circles are a lot like most research projects. I would say the main difference is how they start.

 


NOW AVAILABLE…

One Stop Teacher Memberships

Our grade-level memberships provide the BIGGEST savings on ALL One Stop Teacher Resources! Get 24/7 access to a library of highly effective, student-approved, educational resources.


Getting Started with Inquiry Circles

I always start inquiry circle projects towards the end of a Unit. For example, when I am nearing the end of my Civil War Unit I often start asking my students to think of a question they still have in regards to anything we have discussed. This is usually where I teach a lesson on “Thick vs. Thin Questions”.  Students will come up with questions like, “What were some of the other major battles of the Civil War?”, “What was it like on the Underground Railroad?”, or “How did the North and South work together after the Civil War?” Sometimes students will need help tweaking their question, but overall they understand what types of questions are able to be researched.

Grouping Students

Once my students decide on a topic/question, I ask them to write it on a piece of paper and turn it into me. I then go through all of their questions and group students based on what they wrote. While many of the questions are not the same, they are related. I usually look for 2-3 students with similar questions and put them in a group together.  This way of grouping students is fantastic! This pushes students to worry more about their own interest in a topic and less about what their friends are doing. This process also gives me (the teacher) control over who works together.

Planning Time

Once groups have been formed, I ask my students to develop a work plan for their research and presentation of the topic/question they have chosen. A work plan usually includes group member names, topic or question being researched, where information can be found on this topic, other related questions that will be researched, what each member is responsible for doing, a plan for presenting the information, what help (if any) they will need from me, and a signature from each group member.

I find that this work plan helps hold students accountable. By the time the work plan is complete, they understand exactly what they are supposed to do, and have a plan to make sure it gets done. At this point, my students begin the research process. With notebooks and pencils in hand, I take my class to the school library to check out relevant books, and to the computer lab to search the internet. All in all, I would say that I take about three to five days on the research part of this project.

Putting it All Together

Last, but not least, comes my students’ favorite part…putting together the presentations. I give my students the option to present their information in any way they would like; PowerPoint, Posters, drama/play, create a book, create a movie. This part usually takes about a week, depending on how much class time you can donate to this adventure. Once students are ready, they present their research to the class and usually include a short quiz/game at the end.

Need some social studies project ideas? Learn how to make Social Studies more engaging for your students with inquiry circles. Inquiry circles reinforce social studies standards while teaching the research process.

 

Not only do my students deepen their understanding of the content being covered, but they also get to strengthen their research/presentation skills through this process. While this does take a lot of time to complete (which we all know is hard to come by in the classroom), it is worth it! I typically use my reading center time as this project directly relates to the Common Core Standards in Reading (see below for specific standards).
If you would like to learn more about inquiry circles, check out the book Comprehension and Collaboration

You Might Also Like...

Welcome! I am a former teacher and homeschooling mama, and I have a passion for creating educational resources that save teachers time and students love using!

read more

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Search by Topic

Popular Resources






How can I help?

  • Privacy Policy
  • Shop
  • Terms of Use
  • Blog
  • Contact Me
  • Planners

Connect With Me

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Copyright © 2023 · One Stop Teacher Shop · design by Designer Blogs