Libertyville School District IDM PD

C3 Teachers · Professional Learning

Making Inquiry Possible

Libertyville School District 70 · Highland Middle School Social Studies

Tuesday, September 29, 2026 8:45 AM – 12:00 PM Facilitator: John Lee
Our goal this morning: experience inquiry as learners, examine how the Inquiry Design Model works, and leave with a draft inquiry blueprint that each grade-level team commits to teaching this year.

Your Design Tools

Each grade-level team works in its own Inquiry Design Working Document. Open your grade’s document and keep it open all morning.

Grade 6

Working Document

Content angle through formative tasks.

Open Grade 6 doc
Grade 7

Working Document

Content angle through formative tasks.

Open Grade 7 doc
Grade 8

Working Document

Content angle through formative tasks.

Open Grade 8 doc
Session

Slides and Agenda

Everything we’ll look at together today.

Slides Agenda
Templates

Blueprint Templates

Each button makes your own copy in your Google Drive. Click “Make a copy” when prompted (you’ll need to be signed in to Google).

Copy: 3 Supporting Questions Copy: 4 Supporting Questions

Agenda

  • 8:45–9:00
    Welcome and Opening DiscussionWhat’s in place? What’s working? What resonated in the pre-readings?
  • 9:00–9:20
    Experiencing InquiryWas the development of agriculture good for humans? We work through part of a Grade 6 inquiry as learners.
  • 9:20–9:40
    The Inquiry Design Model in BriefThe Inquiry Arc, questions/tasks/sources, and the blueprint.
  • 9:40–10:15
    Design Time: Framing the InquiryContent angle → compelling question → argument stems
  • 10:15–10:25
    Break
  • 10:25–11:00
    Design Time: Filling the BlueprintSupporting questions → sources → formative tasks
  • 11:00–11:30
    Finishing and Design CheckStaging, argument, and informed action; coherence check; pair share
  • 11:30–11:45
    Commitment and Next StepsWhen will you teach it? What might a 6–8 inquiry drumbeat look like?

Model Inquiry: Was the Development of Agriculture Good for Humans?

We start by doing inquiry before designing it. This Grade 6 inquiry asks students to weigh the intended and unintended consequences of agriculture using evidence from the Neolithic period and ancient Mesopotamia.

Compelling Question
Was the development of agriculture good for humans?
Staging
List the greatest innovations and explain why they belong on the list.
Supporting Question 1
How did environmental changes and new technologies affect the development of agriculture?
Supporting Question 2
How did the development of agriculture in Mesopotamia lead to the development of writing?
Supporting Question 3
What were the consequences of agriculture for humans? (our focus today)
Summative Argument
Construct an argument addressing the compelling question using claims and evidence, acknowledging competing views.

View the inquiry PDF Word

The Design Process

Content angleFind the tension or puzzle in a topic.
Compelling questionOpen the frame and set up an argument.
Argument stemsStress test: more than one defensible answer?
Supporting questionsSequence the content with a clear logic.
SourcesVary type, complexity, and perspective.
Formative tasksVisible performances that build to the argument.

Final Design Check

  • Does the content angle contain tension?
  • Does the compelling question invite argument?
  • Do the argument stems reveal multiple defensible answers?
  • Do the supporting questions sequence knowledge?
  • Do the tasks and sources prepare students for an evidence-based argument?
  • Is action or extension scaled appropriately?

Readings and Resources

Pre-readings

IDM introductory chapter (Questions, Tasks, Sources) · “The Art of the Blueprint: Inquiry in the Classroom” · “Inquiry as a Steady Drumbeat: Designing a Curricular Groove for Middle School Social Studies” (Social Education)

C3 Publications

The Inquiry Design Model

The blueprint, its components, and how they fit together.

About IDM

Inquiry Library

Hundreds of published inquiries to browse by grade and topic, including grades 6–8.

Grades 6–8 inquiries

Building Block Inquiries

Short, focused inquiries that help establish a regular rhythm of inquiry.

Explore BBIs

Design → Teach → Reflect → Revise

Inquiry culture is built through repeated cycles of design, classroom use, and revision.
Questions? Contact C3 Teachers