Meeting Nebraska’s Needs:
Inquiry-Based Social Studies Units for Grades 4-8
In response to a comprehensive, statewide survey that identified a need for high-quality instructional materials in social studies (grades 4-8), the ESUCC has led a collaborative effort to create inquiry-based social studies units tailored for that grade band in Nebraska. The initiative equips educators with innovative, standards-aligned resources designed to engage students in critical thinking and active learning. By developing the lesson plans and resources for these inquiry units, we aim to support teachers across the state in delivering meaningful, student-centered social studies education that meets the latest instructional standards.
Explore Our Collection of Over 85 Inquiry Units
Find Your Next Lesson Plan in the Nebraska OER Hub
You have access to the entire collection of inquiry units developed by the ESUCC Social Studies Inquiry Project through the Nebraska OER Hub. These resources are open-use and freely available to educators to use, remix, and leverage to enhance any social studies curriculum.
Nebraska’s New Social Studies Standards: A Closer Look
The Inquiry Design Model (IDM) is a distinctive approach to creating curriculum and instructional materials that honors teachers’ knowledge and expertise, avoids over prescription, and focuses on the main elements of the instructional design process as envisioned in the Inquiry Arc of the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards. Explore how our project is transforming social studies instruction and empowering educators throughout Nebraska.
An Overview of the NE Social Standards and Shifts
NE Social Studies Standards
This video provides an overview of the 2019 Nebraska Social Studies Standards, explaining key changes from the previous version, how the standards are organized by grade level and discipline, and the importance of incorporating required indicators in instruction.
NE Instructional Shifts for Social Studies
This video explains the instructional shifts in the 2019 Nebraska Social Studies Standards, focusing on how educators should engage students through inquiry, disciplinary lenses, and evaluating sources, moving away from traditional direct instruction.
Discover the Power of Inquiry:
What is an Inquiry Unit?
The Inquiry Design Model (IDM) is a distinctive approach to creating curriculum and instructional materials that honors teachers’ knowledge and expertise, avoids over prescription, and focuses on the main elements of the instructional design process as envisioned in the Inquiry Arc of the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards.
Watch a preview of the podcast with John Lee of C3 Teachers and Mark Brady as they highlight the power of inquiry. The full podcast is below.
The Good Life EDU Podcast is dedicated to discussing all things education in the state of Nebraska and across the US. This program is presented by the Nebraska Educational Service Unit’s Coordinating Council.
This episode highlights the shift to inquiry for social studies instruction. On the pod, John Lee of C3 Teachers conveys the details of their national efforts with the C3 Inquiry Design Model that Nebraska ESUs utilized in their collaborative efforts to develop inquiry units of study for grades 4-8. Mark Brady of ESU 7 also joins us to share the history of this effort in Nebraska that has produced 60+ inquiry units developed by Nebraska teachers for Nebraska teachers (that are aligned to the Nebraska State Standards).
To access the C3 Teachers’ site and resources, visit https://c3teachers.org/
To access the Nebraska Hub on the C3 Teachers’ site, visit https://c3teachers.org/nebraska-c3-hub/
If you are a Nebraska teacher who would like more information about joining the 2024 Summer Inquiry Project, reach out to your local ESU for more details.
Stories from the Classroom: Educators Who Built This Content
The Good Life EDU Podcast is dedicated to discussing all things education in the state of Nebraska and across the US. This program is presented by the Nebraska Educational Service Unit’s Coordinating Council.
In this episode of The Good Life EDU Podcast, we dive into the ESUCC’s statewide Social Studies Inquiry Project with Mark Brady of ESU 7 and three incredible teachers from this summer’s iteration of the project (Cassie Kenedy of Omaha Public Schools, Jeff Maddox of Creek Valley Public Schools, and Sydney Daly of Millard Public Schools). Together, we highlight the three-year journey of developing nearly 90 inquiry-based social studies units for grades 4-8, created by Nebraska teachers for Nebraska classrooms. Cassie, Jeff, and Sydney detail the challenges, successes, and insights gained from this unique professional learning experience and share how these innovative resources are elevating social studies education across the state. Join us to hear firsthand stories of statewide collaboration, creativity, and commitment to engaging students in deeper learning.
Access all resources related to the Social Studies Inquiry Project at https://www.esucc.org/instructional-materials/social-studies/
Access the Nebraska OER Hub at https://oercommons.org/groups/nebraska-social-studies-inquiry-project/11856/?&__hub_id=55
The Nebraska Page of the C3 Teachers site https://c3teachers.org/nebraska-c3-hub/
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, listen to this earlier episode where we connect the SSIP to the C3 Framework and the national effort to transform instructional practices in social studies: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-c3-teachers-and-nebraska-esus-are-transforming/id1512974122?i=1000641983055
The Good Life EDU Podcast is dedicated to discussing all things education in the state of Nebraska and across the US. This program is presented by the Nebraska Educational Service Unit’s Coordinating Council.
This episode highlights the amazing efforts and the resulting inquiry units of study developed by thirty Nebraska educators as a part of the ESUCC’s 2022 social studies special project. This initiative brought together personnel from several ESUs, including members of SDA (the staff development affiliate) and TLT (the teaching and learning with technology affiliate) to train, lead, and support this select group of 4th-8th grade teachers as they designed units of study to implement in their own classroom practices and to share with others across our state!
For more information on the SS special project, the inquiry design model, the NE social studies standards and shifts, and to receive access to the resource collection (including the inquiry training itself), access https://www.esucc.org/instructional-materials/social-studies/
Need Help or Want to Learn More?
If you have questions, please reach out to your local ESU or explore additional resources available on this page to enhance your understanding and implementation of the Nebraska Social Studies Standards.
Special thanks to the dedicated educators from our ESUCC Social Studies cadre whose expertise and collaboration made the development of these inquiry-based resources and the support for our Nebraska teachers possible.
- Dawn Ferreyra – ESU 3
- Lori Broady – ESU 4
- Nicholas Ziegler – ESU 5
- Mark Brady ESU – 7
- Katrina Gotschall – ESU 8
- Deb Paulman – ESU 16
- Denise O’Brien, ESU 10
- Rhonda Eis – ESUCC
