Social studies and the humanities present unique challenges to struggling learners: complex stories, abstract concepts such as “citizenship,” a huge disciplinary vocabulary and need for background knowledge.
View the Accessing Inquiry Clearinghouse in graphic layout.
Accessing Inquiry offers strategies to teach History, Social Science, and the Humanities to ALL learners. Examine the framework, Universal Design for Learning–supporting excellence for all by offering multiple paths to understanding. Integrate the histories of people with disabilities and of immigrant and foreign language communities into your curriculum–often through topics that you already teach! Gain strategies to know and support diverse students, to empower them to ask good questions, to engage them in deep thinking, and to assess what they are learning.
Search our library of Teaching Resources for model accessible lessons and primary source sets, including many that feature Disability History or Immigrant History. All build on the rich resources of the Library of Congress, the Disability History Museum, and our many other partners. Search also for classroom Teaching Strategies, featuring diverse approaches to inquiry, engagement, and assessment. Browse throughout the Accessing Inquiry pages to discover a wealth of tools and activities to make instruction accessible for all learners.
Gain understanding of Emerging America's approach to Professional Development, including summaries of its varied programs. Learn about and register for current workshops and courses, both in-person and online–all emphasizing inquiry-based use of primary sources, in-depth content from top scholars, practical classroom strategies, sharing with engaged colleagues, and much more! Sign up for our weekly History eNews digest, including our events and many others. Read the Emerging America blog, including a search through back issues.
Since 1974, the Collaborative has supported good teaching of ALL learners. Emerging America brought this focus to history education in 2006. Now Accessing Inquiry advances that work through the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Program at the Collaborative for Educational Services.