Grades 3-5

This inquiry leads students through an investigation of the life, achievements, and mystery of Amelia Earhart and her disappearance. The compelling question, “Where did you go, Amelia Earhart?” engages students in discovering the legacy of Amelia Earhart from her youth to her disappearance. Students will use the sources provided by this inquiry to gather information to create a final video in which they act as a reporter on the life of Amelia. They will need to report the facts but also come up with a clear argument to support their reasoning for what they believe to be the most compelling theory of her disappearance. The provided sources are suitable for 3^rd-5^th grade but can be differentiated as necessary. Including in this inquiry are a variety of sources that may be especially useful for advanced students who have a deeper interest in this topic.

The Heart of Social Studies

Inquiries

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Amelia Earhart

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Electoral College v. Popular Vote

This inquiry unit is designed for 5th grade students to investigate the election process. Students will learn how the process works and be asked to think critically about it. They will investigate primary sources, biased articles, statistics, and more to eventually form an opinion on this “hot” topic in the United States of America. Throughout…

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Solving Big Problems: Trade Book Inquiry

A notable phenomenon in US schools is the recent increase in book bans. Between 2021-2023, book bans rose 33% in K-12 public schools. The most consistently challenged books are those that center the lives, histories, and perspectives of people of color and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. The Great Banned-Books Bake Sale is a trade…

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Walk Tall: Trade Book Inquiry

Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy. For Black Americans, securing the right to vote has been a battle. While the 14th Amendment granted Black Americans citizenship in 1868, poll taxes, literacy tests, and intimidation created insurmountable barriers to the polls. Due to the courage of many Americans who marched, protested, and applied consistent pressure…

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Santa Fe Trail

This inquiry leads 4th grade students through an investigation of the Santa Fe Trail and its impact on communities, states, and nations. The compelling question, “For Better or Worse, How Did the Santa Fe Trail Change America?” gives students the opportunity to think deeper about the Santa Fe Trail and its impact on the United…

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Stories and Words of 9-11

This inquiry leads students through an investigation of the various types of information represented in pictures and in words. By investigating the compelling question, students examine what can be learned by looking at a series of pictures and comparing them with what can be learned by reading the words in a story. By completing this…

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Community Action

This action-embedded inquiry leads students through an investigation of how they can make a difference in their community. By featuring an opportunity for students to think through the issues that surround them, the inquiry enables them to choose one to work on, to decide what kinds of action they could take, to assess the challenges…

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Tennessee Geography

This 2nd and 3rd grade inquiry expands student understandings of how a state is shaped by exploring the ways in which geographic and cultural forces work together to define a region. The compelling question—“How did my state get its shape?”—engages students in an examination of the defining characteristics of Tennessee by noting the history around…

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Common Good

This 3rd grade inquiry asks students to think about a challenging local public policy issue: eminent domain. The compelling question—“Was the Chickamauga Dam worth it?”—engages students in an examination of a historic eminent domain case study that happened right in their backyard. The Chickamauga Dam was a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) project — a result…

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Indian Removal

This 4th and 5th grade inquiry expands students’ understandings of Indian removal in the early 1800s by centering Cherokee resistance to removal policies. The compelling question—“How did the Cherokee resist removal?”—engages students in an examination of the Cherokee, whose ancestral homelands include parts of present day Tennessee, and the efforts they took to resist removal…

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