Examining the featured letter from Franklin Delano Roosevelt to a doctor treating a patient with polio can be an excellent jumping off point into a lesson on FDR, disability rights, and the history of this infectious disease.  

Encouraging students to participate in local civic activities for a classroom project enables them to develop real-world connections to social studies content.  

Theory and Research in Social Education is designed to stimulate and communicate systematic research and thinking in social education. Its purpose is to foster the creation and exchange of ideas and research findings that will expand knowledge and understanding of the purposes, conditions, and effects of schooling and education about society and social relations. Manuscripts reporting conceptual or empirical studies of social education are welcomed. CUFA members, access current and back issues here.

The featured photograph and works of music can launch an engaging lesson on the ways that technological advancements influenced westward expansion.

—Scott Alan MetzgerA recent Hollywood film about the Crusades helps students better understand the ongoing conflict between Islam and the West.263

The records of an immigrant accused of sedition during World War I can spark a classroom debate about national security and freedom of speech.

To describe the criteria for developing compelling and supporting questions to spark inquiry at elementary, middle, and high school levels. Examples of compelling and supporting questions will be provided. Teachers will be invited to develop compelling and supporting questions for existing or new lessons. C3 Framework lesson templates will be introduced to guide teachers through the process of adapting existing lessons or developing new lessons. Objectives: As a result of participating in this Investigation, you will become familiar with:  The importance of questions…

—Lee Ann PotterA one-sentence letter from school boy Anthony Ferreira to President Ford stating, “ &I think you are half right and half wrong &” is one of several primary sources featured in this article that highlight for students the value of responsible citizenship.3926907392

Spotlighting a sample lesson on the expansion of Islam in West Africa, the author demonstrates the important role that direct instruction plays in fostering inquiry-based instruction.