Adopting, Launching, and Implementing Investigating History

Investigating History is here!

All Investigating History units for grades five, six, and seven are now available! Register here to gain access to these curricular materials.

The supports and resources below can help you, your school, or your district as you begin the process of adopting Investigating History and bringing it to life for your students.

Background Briefs for Educators

Investigating History Background Briefs are designed to support educators in developing their own content knowledge prior to teaching each unit. By spring 2025, all Investigating History units from grades 3–7 will have an accompanying Background Brief. Sneak peek: See the Background Brief for Grade 6, Unit 1 (Human Origins).

Each Background Brief contains five parts:

• Connecting to the Unit: Identify what you need to know and be able to do to teach the unit.
• Overview Video: Learn about foundational narratives of the content from a scholar expert.
• Building Background Knowledge: Access helpful resources that address key ideas.
• Unit in Context: Learn about misconceptions, enduring themes, and the evolving research of social scientists.
• A Note on Language: Identify key considerations for using language related the content.

Certified Professional Development Providers

Certified providers have received training in the Investigating History curriculum and instructional approach and received DESE approval on their professional development offerings. We strongly recommend that districts partner with a certified professional development provider in order to leverage these providers' existing expertise in Investigating History's content, pedagogy, and design.

Classroom Instructional Videos

These videos illustrate Investigating History lessons from classrooms across Massachusetts. They are intended to provide examples of what Investigating History looks like in practice and the type of instructional moves and strategies that can help teachers effectively bring the Investigating History materials to life with students. Educators can use them to build their vision of an Investigating History classroom, reflect upon and push their current practice, or engage in focused study of a particular element of instruction.

Setting the Stage for Success: Adoption and Implementation Guide

This guide is designed to help schools and districts make more informed and thoughtful choices about the Investigating History adoption process, as well as to support their ongoing planning and implementation work by highlighting areas where they may need to invest additional time, resources, and/or attention. It draws on the experiences of schools who piloted Investigating History to lay out the conditions that are critical to Investigating History's long-term success and provide a self-assessment tool that schools and districts can use to determine the extent to which each condition currently exists.

Obtaining Print Copies of Investigating History Materials

While the curriculum is designed to be accessed fully electronically, we recognize that some educators prefer print copies of some or all materials including teacher's guides, student handouts, or classroom materials such as maps and images for station activities. There are two options for obtaining print copies of Investigating History:

• Print the materials yourself: Instructions on downloading bundles of the materials suitable for printing can be found on the "Print Materials" section of the curriculum webpage, which is accessible upon registration.

• Order print materials: Investigating History print material orders can be professionally fulfilled by Commonwealth Print and Mail Services (CPMS) and TigerPress. Both vendors offer a variety of ordering and pricing options and educators are encouraged to explore each print partner to determine the best fit for their needs. You can access the CPMS order form (click "register for an account" and follow these instructions) or TigerPress order form directly. For support, please reach out directly to Matt Brogna at CPMS or Jamie O'Connell at Tiger Press.

Design Specifications

The Curriculum Design Specifications document outlines the collective classroom vision that undergirds the Investigating History curriculum, describing what history and social science learning should look like for all students, and describes the materials' alignment with the latest research on teaching and learning in history and social science education.

Have additional questions? Please email InvestigatingHistory@mass.gov .