Five Inquiry Lenses

​Inquiry Pathways explore the past through compelling questions that spark curiosity and critical thinking.​

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Use these five inquiry lenses to help students frame compelling questions.

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Mysteries

Questions of Accuracy and Facts​

• How do different sources describe the event?

• ​Did the event happen as described in the sources?

• What actually happened, according to the available evidence?

 

Decision Points

Questions of Choices and Consequences

• What choices were available to people at the time?

• What factors influenced the choices people made?

• What choice made the most sense given what they knew then?

 

Counterfactuals

Questions of Agency and Contingency

• What might have happened if the event had not occurred?

• How might history have unfolded differently under other circumstances?

 

Patterns

Questions of Continuity and Change

• How was the event connected to what came before?

• How did the event differ from similar ones in the past?

• What changed, and what stayed the same?

 

Interpretations

Questions of Meaning and Significance

• What were the main causes and effects of the event?

• Why is the event significant?

• How have interpretations of the event changed over time?