Integrating Primary Sources, Artifacts, and Museum Visits into the Primary Years Program Inquiry Curriculum in an International Baccalaureate Elementary Setting

Questions remain about inquiry instruction, while research confirms that using primary sources can aid

students’ inquiry learning processes. This study questioned: “How do second-grade teachers at an

International Baccalaureate Organization/IBO language immersion setting incorporate inquiry methods in

instructional practices?”; “How does training in the use of primary sources, artifacts, and museum visits

shape second-grade teachers’ instructional practice?” A Library of Congress Teaching with Primary

Sources grant supported this university-school social studies partnership, which accessed artifacts,

primary sources, and a national archives and museum. Data sources in this mixed methods study were

from the SAMPI Inquiry Observation Instrument, interviews, and observations in French and Spanish

language settings. Analysis revealed teachers incorporating inquiry learning via museum/archives visits

and using primary sources in a study of the history and geography of the French and Spanish Colonial fur

trade era. Results revealed a subsequent integration of primary sources and learning kits in the immersion

school network’s ongoing inquiry curriculum design process.