In this lesson, which supports the C3 Framework's Inquiry Arc, students explore primary sources and hypothesize on how medieval people understood and coped with the Black Death.

First graders in Los Angeles investigate rules and laws in society in a civics lesson that illustrates the inquiry approach of the C3 Framework.

When students work together as citizens in response to rigorous inquiry in the social studies, they foster a more engaged, democratic, and revitalized public life.

The C3 Framework shifts the conversation away from tests and towards assessments that allow students to show how well they understood what they have learned.

Like the NCSS national standards, which outline content and concepts for teachers and curriculum developers, the C3 Framework delineates pedagogical approaches and guides states in upgrading their social studies standards.

The Common Core State Standards has opened up an opportunity for educators to re-frame literacy instruction in the social studies.

Teaching through an inquiry approach demands scaffolding and the skilled use of questions that enables even young children to examine issues of substance and interest.

The C3 Framework is the culmination of an unprecedented collaboration between professional organizations representing the different social studies disciplines.