A question I hear from teachers all the time is this: “My district is requiring us to devote more time to reading and writing in all subject areas. I already have too much content to cover. Is there a way to teach literacy skills without sacrificing time for science?” It’s a fair concern and an important one. The short answer is: you don’t have to choose . But making that possible requires rethinking what we mean by “literacy” and how it develops in a science classroom. The P

Open educational resources like OpenSciEd offer powerful storylines, but many teachers struggle with pacing and student engagement. Argument-Driven Inquiry (ADI) provides a practical jumping-off point—ready-to-use, hands-on investigations that fit naturally into OER units. Learn how ADI can serve as a benchmark or mid-unit checkpoint, giving students a complete cycle of questioning, data collection, and argumentation while keeping your NGSS instruction on track.

Critical thinking in inquiry encourages students to question, analyze, and evaluate information. It pushes them beyond passive learning to active discovery.