Read. Inquire. Write. is a free curriculum using investigations to support middle school social studies learning through inquiry-based lessons; also, this site provides many supports for English Language Learners within the activities. Use the provided literacy tools to guide students in analytical reasoning and argument writing within the 5-day investigations. Each investigation includes all materials needed including teacher's guides, student packets, rubrics, student models, and a PowerPoint presentation. Also, all activities provide video models demonstrating methods to encourage student thinking and investigative responses. Each lesson includes correlation to Common Core Standards. Registration is required to download materials from this site. Videos reside on YouTube. If your school blocks YouTube, they may not be viewable.

tag(s): civil war (135), colonial america (95), concept mapping (17), debate (37), democracy (19), evaluating sources (28), greece (27), inquiry (24), maps (207), mexico (29), middle east (43), native americans (91)

Inquiry in Action offers free, inquiry-based science lessons teaching physical science and chemistry concepts. All activities come from a book of the same title, available to download for free on this site. Choose from the most popular activities, lessons reviewing chemistry fundamentals, or browse through all activities. Lessons include complete instructions along with printable activity sheets and assessments. In addition to the lessons, be sure to check out the Chemistry Review portion of the site for a refresher on the principles of chemistry.

tag(s): acids and bases (7), density (18), matter (46), molecules (42), temperature (35), water (101)

The NASA SciFiles provides award-winning, inquiry-based and standards-based videos promoting STEM learning for students in grades 3-12. This section of Knowitall.org is designed to introduce students to NASA through the use of problem-based learning. Each series (topic) has four 15 minute videos, starring the Tree House Detectives solving problems and searching out answers using the scientific method. Find every area of STEM included in the series from environmental issues to space travel, energy to physical fitness, and everything else you can think of for STEM. Some specific sample topics include Case of the Shaky Quake, Case of the Galactic Vacation, Case of the Mysterious Material, Case of the "Wright" Invention, and too many more to name here.

tag(s): earthquakes (45), electricity (59), energy (130), fitness (38), flight (31), habitats (86), oceans (150), planets (112), plants (147), soil (16), sound (73), space (215), water cycle (22), weather (165)

This toolkit provides materials for teaching social studies topics through inquiry methods. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and begin by choosing from the three-grade level bands to view available materials correlated to Common Core Standards. Each grade includes one annotated inquiry labeled with an asterisk. It is suggested to teach these inquiries first as they contain many suggestions and tips for teaching inquiry-based lessons. All inquiries include links to download in Word or PDF format.

tag(s): assessment (146), commoncore (75), professional development (394)

Explore examples of thinking in math through original solutions found by students! Find ways to include an inquiry-based approach in mathematics education. Each post explores a particular math situation and conversations with students to find solutions. Browse through the blog by scrolling through recent posts or find specific topics by keyword search, tags, and categories.

tag(s): blogs (66), number sense (70), questioning (32)

Join BirdSleuth is an inquiry-based science curriculum that engages kids in scientific study. Use real data collection and the scientific process. Study nature and discover the real-world importance of data (entered by students and used by scientists). Search resources by grade level K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Each grade level has several categories such as Kits and Curriculum units, Free Downloads, Posters, Cards, Games, & More. Some free lessons and activities are: Citizen Science Bird Quest, Feathered Friends, Investigating Evidence, HomeSchoolers' Guide to Project Feeder Watch, Evolution in Paradise, Using eBird with Groups, Explore Life Cycles Through Nesting Birds, and lots more. Kits are available for purchase.

tag(s): birds (45), citizen science (27), environment (239), scientific method (47)

Freckle Education is a Common Core-aligned program with resources for math, ELA, science, and social studies for K-8 that adapts to individual student skills. Freckle has over 50,000 math questions matched to all math standards and more than 500 ELA non-fiction articles that often cover social studies and science standards as well as all ELA standards. There are five reading levels offered for each article. Sign up to create a class account and add student information. Students login in through an iPad app or with the online web version and the class code. Students complete a diagnostic pre-test and then begin working at their individual level. Awards of coins for completion of levels promote student engagement and enjoyment of the program. Freckle also promotes student collaboration through their inquiry-based, cross-curricular lessons. Other features include a scratch pad for working through problems, virtual manipulatives, and individualized printables for practice. Receive detailed analytics and student reports on your dashboard. You may encounter a warning about how Freckle may not work on your browser and to use the Chrome app. For this reviewer Mozilla FireFox and Microsoft Edge seemed to work fine for a student pre-test and the teacher dashboard. This program is great for supplementing your instruction, differentiating, blended learning classes, and remote learning. Freckle was titled Front Row.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): collaboration (89), differentiation (83), independent reading (86), inquiry (24), reading comprehension (142), Research (83), Teacher Utilities (150), writing (317)

The mysteries of magnetic fields and electromagnetism are revealed in this on-line inquiry-based activity that places students in the role of NASA scientists, working to design a magnetometer boom for a spacecraft. The site contains an introduction for teachers, background information that includes a glossary and list of Web resource, and three well-constructed lesson plans. Content may be views in either pdf or HTML format. Created by the University of California - Berkeley.

tag(s): magnetism (36)