Inquiry and Engagement: Promising Practices of the Common Core

Gail Hamilton will argue that the Common Core Standards offer an opportunity for history teachers to increase rigor and make history more relevant for middle school students. The Common Core reading and writing standards for history/social science include many skills that are best demonstrated through the process of inquiry. Focus on these skills allows instruction to move beyond a list of one fact after another to a more coherent narrative.  She will share ways for teachers to incorporate these reading and writing skills in their classroom.