Reframing the Question of Time

One of the strongest themes throughout the webinar was the idea that “lack of time” is rarely just about minutes on a schedule. Dr. Rachel Strang, Strategic Implementation Lead at inquirED, emphasized that time conversations often reveal deeper questions about priorities, instructional expectations, and influence within school systems.

Rather than focusing only on what educators cannot control, Strang encouraged leaders to identify the places where they can influence decisions — from pacing guidance to collaboration with principals and instructional coaches. “We might not be able to decide it,” she explained, referring to school schedules, “but could we influence it?”

That shift in mindset became a recurring throughline of the discussion. Instead of viewing social studies as competing with other priorities, the webinar highlighted how inquiry-centered instruction can support broader goals around literacy, critical thinking, and student engagement.

As Strang noted, many school leaders already value the kinds of outcomes social studies develops — they simply may not yet recognize social studies as the vehicle for achieving them.

“It’s almost like this constant tension of the reality versus the ideal and how you continue to chip away to get to the ideal, because it’s not going to happen overnight.” — Rachel Strang

Building Teacher Confidence Through Inquiry

The conversation also explored a persistent challenge in elementary education: many teachers do not initially feel confident teaching social studies content.

JoAnna Sorensen, PreK–6 Social Studies and Gifted and Talented Specialist at the Utah State Board of Education, described how elementary teachers are often expected to be generalists across many disciplines while receiving limited preparation specifically in social studies instruction. In response, Utah has focused heavily on professional learning opportunities designed to help teachers build both background knowledge and instructional confidence.

But the discussion pushed beyond content expertise alone. Both Sorensen and Strang argued that inquiry-based instruction fundamentally changes the role of the teacher in productive ways.

“When I was teaching AP World History,” Strang reflected, “there is just absolutely no way that you can learn all of world history from all time in one year for students, let alone be the teacher.” Inquiry, she explained, creates classrooms where teachers and students learn alongside one another rather than relying on the teacher as the sole content expert.

That approach also helps normalize curiosity, uncertainty, and collaborative learning for students themselves. Instead of viewing inquiry as something students do after they acquire knowledge, the panelists emphasized that inquiry is the process through which students build understanding in the first place.

“Inquiry is the process of learning, not the product. The background knowledge is the result of the process.” — Rachel Strang

When Integration Strengthens Learning

Throughout the webinar, both speakers emphasized that integration can be a powerful strategy for making time for social studies — but only when it is intentional and authentic.

Sorensen described how strong integration begins with social studies content and then strategically incorporates literacy skills such as questioning, writing, discussion, and analysis. “Rather than asking where we can stick some reading of social studies into ELA time,” she explained, educators can instead start with compelling social studies questions and use literacy instruction to deepen the inquiry process.

One especially memorable example came from a second grade classroom in Utah, where a teacher built an interdisciplinary inquiry unit around debates surrounding Utah Lake. Students examined articles, conducted research, engaged in discussion, and explored real community issues connected directly to their lives.

The unit stretched across multiple disciplines — including social studies, literacy, science, and math — while remaining deeply rooted in meaningful civic learning. More importantly, it demonstrated what can happen when teachers are trusted to adapt instruction around relevant, inquiry-driven experiences.

For both speakers, these kinds of examples illustrated that integration is not about reducing social studies. It is about elevating it as a meaningful context for broader learning.

“When you’re trying to get the content as well as skills across disciplines, authentic healthy integration is key.” — JoAnna Sorensen

Permission, Trust, and Leadership

A major insight from the webinar was that instructional change often depends less on mandates and more on permission.

Sorensen repeatedly returned to the importance of leaders explicitly supporting elementary social studies instruction. Teachers, she explained, may value social studies deeply but still feel hesitant to prioritize it if they believe tested subjects are the only areas fully supported by leadership.

“I think teachers sometimes feel they don’t have permission,” Sorensen said. “They just need somebody to say, ‘Yes, teach it. You can teach it. You have my support.’”

The discussion also surfaced the emotional reality many educators experience when innovative instructional work is constrained by rigid implementation expectations. In one story, Sorensen described teachers who had thoughtfully integrated literacy and social studies standards only to be told they needed to follow curriculum “with fidelity.” The experience became a powerful reminder that trusting educators is itself a leadership practice.

At multiple points, both speakers emphasized the importance of creating structures where teachers can collaborate, share successful practices, and learn from one another. Strong examples already exist in schools and classrooms across the country — but those stories often remain invisible unless leaders intentionally create space for them to surface.

“We have to trust our teachers. They know. They can make it work.” — JoAnna Sorensen

What This Means for Practice

For teachers, the webinar reinforced that inquiry-based social studies does not require perfect expertise before getting started. Instead, it invites educators to build classrooms where curiosity, investigation, and collaborative learning are central to the instructional experience.

For instructional leaders and district teams, the conversation highlighted the importance of realistic pacing, aligned messaging, and meaningful professional learning. Even when instructional minutes are constrained, leaders still shape the conditions that determine whether social studies feels possible, supported, and valued.

And for systems more broadly, the webinar offered an important reminder: social studies is not separate from literacy, civic learning, or student engagement goals. In many cases, it is one of the strongest vehicles for advancing them together.

Closing Reflection

As the Coast to Coast and Classroom to Classroom series came to a close, this final conversation returned to a foundational idea: what schools choose to make time for communicates what they value.

Elementary social studies may continue to face real structural pressures, but throughout the webinar, educators repeatedly pointed toward another possibility — one where inquiry, civic learning, literacy, and student voice are not competing priorities, but interconnected parts of meaningful instruction. The challenge moving forward is not simply finding more minutes in the day. It is deciding what kinds of learning experiences students deserve most.