Historical Inquiries
Georgia’s Westward Expansion Inquiry Kit for eighth grade Georgia Studies
Aninquiry kit created for the 2022 Georgia History Festival poses the question “How did Georgia change during its period of westward expansion?” Utilizing the Inquiry Design Model from C3 Teachers and Teaching with Primary Sources, students utilize historical markers and primary sources to identify factors that affected Georgia’s economic and political growth and westward expansion between 1789-1840.
View/download the Inquiry Kit pieces here:
Georgia’s Westward Expansion Inquiry Kit Teacher Guide
Staging the Question: Understanding Historical Markers
Supporting Question 1: The Yazoo Land Fraud and Its Impact on Georgia
Supporting Question 2: Georgia’s Five Capitals
Supporting Question 3: Georgia Moves West: Push and Pull Factors
Supporting Question 4: The Experiences of the Creek and Cherokee
Taking Informed Action: Create Your Own Historical Marker
Cold War and Late 20th Century Historical Inquiries
Aligned to state performance standards, new materials created for the 2021 Georgia History Festival highlight the most significant events, people, and movements of the second half of the twentieth century.
“And That’s the Way It Is: Television and the Cold War” Inquiry Kit: This inquiry kit guides 5th grade students and teachers to explore events of the Cold War including the Vietnam War, the Space Race, and the Civil Rights Movement.
Georgia Leaders on the World Stage Historical Investigations: Four new classroom-ready resources called Historical Investigations take deep dives into Georgia Leaders on the World Stage through student-centered activities and research exploring digitized primary sources and primary source sets from GHS and a brand new inquiry strategy from the Library of Congress and the Right Question Institute (RQI).
Women’s Suffrage at 100: The 19th Amendment and Georgia History
Classroom resources developed for the 2020 Georgia History Festival and in commemoration of 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment explore the legacy of women’s suffrage in Georgia.
Primary Source Exploration for Elementary Classrooms: The “Finding My Voice” educational resources are inquiry-based, primary source activities suitable for elementary students as young as 2nd grade. The resources are classroom-ready and available online for free. The resources include a teacher guide, primary source sets, and elementary-friendly strategies to help teach the context necessary for students to explore the process of developing points of view, exercising civic rights, and examining how the women’s suffrage movement inspired later movements like the Civil Rights Movement. Utilizing sources related to women’s suffrage, students are challenged to complete engaging activities that will also allow them to explore the ways in which the woman’s suffrage movement impacts their lives today.
“Winning the Vote: Women’s Suffrage in Georgia” Project Box: The “Winning the Vote: Women’s Suffrage in Georgia” inquiry project box features engaging activities for primary source exploration highlighting sources from the New South era and the women’s suffrage movement. The inquiry kit includes a detailed teacher’s guide and high-resolution, color reproductions of primary source material aligned with the 8th grade Georgia Standards of Excellence. Project boxes will be made available upon request to a limited number of classrooms statewide thanks to a grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation. All materials available in the project box can be downloaded for classroom use at the following links.
US Constitution C3 Inquiries
Check out these C3 inquiries based on the Nation’s founding documents from the Georgia Historical Society.
What was Georgia’s response to school desegregation?
This inquiry is a case study in the Fourteenth Amendment. It asks students to evaluate Georgia’s response to the Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954. Students examine the 14th Amendment and how it was applied to cases such as Plessy vs. Ferguson, the decisions made in both Brown vs. Board of Education and Brown II, and the results of the Sibley Commission in order to build an evidence-based argument about Georgia’s response to school desegregation.
Why does the Constitution require an oath of office?
This inquiry focuses on Article VI of the United States Constitution, regarding debts, supremacy, oaths, and religious tests. This inquiry specifically considers the purpose of the Oath of Office requirement. This inquiry challenges students to consider the purpose of taking an oath of office and includes an activity where studentsanalyze the pledge to the Georgia state flag.
Does Voting Matter?
This 8th grade inquiry focuses on Article IV of the United States Constitution and the relationship between citizens and their representatives in state government. The inquiry provides students an opportunity to learn about republican government and the guarantee in the Constitution that each state shall have a republican form of government. Students consider how this takes form through voting and the service of representatives in the Georgia General Assembly.
Why Do the Courts Matter?
This 8th grade inquiry focuses on the role of the Supreme Court in relation to court cases that have had an indelible impact on the state of Georgia. Students assess three landmark cases to help them understand the role of the Supreme Court of the United States as one of the three branches of government.
How Far Does the President’s Power Reach?
This 8th grade annotated inquiry focuses on the powers of the president. Students assess policies and actions of the Jimmy Carter administration and consider if presidents can (and should) expand their power beyond what the Constitution gives the executive. Students also analyze the processes in which the legislative and judicial branches check and balance the power of the executive branch. As an extension task, students are challenged to analyze the constitutionality of Executive Orders.
Was the Great Compromise of 1787 fair?
The Compromise of 1787, otherwise known as the Great Compromise, gave the United States the bicameral legislature it has today. This inquiry focuses on how the Constitutional Convention decided to create legislature bodies and the details of how those bodies are constructed. The inquiry features the compelling questionWas the Great Compromise of 1787 fair? and highlights the involvement of Georgia’s Convention delegate, Abraham Baldwin.
What is the right balance between security and personal freedom?
This 8th grade annotated inquiry asks students to consider what factors affect both liberty and security. Students consider the Social Contract Theory and how the Founding Fathers as well as everyday citizens attempt to find the balance between liberty and security. Students will assess founding documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights to discover how these documents address these topics, and assess major events within American history that have forced Americans to reconsider the balance liberty and security.
Please contact the Education Coordinator, Lisa Landers at llanders@georgiahistory.com for any questions or help using these inquires in your classroom!
