Inquiry Week 2026

Celebrating inquiry in every classroom

Teachers across the country shared photos of students in the thick of inquiry — asking questions, testing ideas, and discovering something new. Here are the classrooms that stood out.

1st place Inquiry Week Winner
1st place Inquiry Week Winner
1st place Inquiry Week Winner
This Year’s Winners

Outstanding inquiry across every grade

These classrooms were picked for their creativity, depth of questioning, and student engagement.

1st place Inquiry Week Winner
🥇 First Place

The Colonial Era

Jefferson County Public Schools, KY · Grade 5

This end of unit project for the Colonial America unit asks students to explore an important event or aspect of colonial life. Students chose a topic and created an illustration in the medium of their choice. They also wrote a caption that explains the event from the perspectives of the different groups they studied, helping them consider how people experienced the same moment in different ways.

2nd place Inquiry Week Winner
🥈 Second Place

Migration & Movement

Maywood School District 89, IL · Grade 3

After reading about different waves of immigration, third grade students created posters about a specific immigrant group and presented what they learned to the class. The activity sparked discussion about push and pull factors and helped students understand the challenges immigrants faced before and after arriving in the United States.

3rd place Inquiry Week Winner
🥉 Third Place

My Team & Self

Alta Vista School, CA · Kindergarten

In the My Team and Self inquiry unit, students reflected on their own strengths and then identified the strengths of their classmates. They shared and celebrated these qualities as a class while learning how each person contributes to a team. The experience helped students understand the importance of teamwork and appreciating one another.

For Participants

Download your certificate

Every student who participated in Inquiry Week 2026 deserves recognition. Download the official participation certificate to celebrate their curiosity and hard work.

Download certificate (PDF)

Student Works

Explore examples from the Inquiry Work Gallery.

Click on a thumbnail below to expand and view more images.

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Students reflected upon the photographs in the Revolutionary Gallery Walk Hook activity for this unit. They were able to understand what revolution and revolutionary meant while they previewed content from the unit to come.

Unit

The American Revolution

Grade

5th Grade

Example Type

Handout

Students reflected upon the photographs in the Revolutionary Gallery Walk Hook activity for this unit. They were able to understand what revolution and revolutionary meant while they previewed content from the unit to come.

Additional Info

Elizabeth Nielsen from Skokie District 68: IL, 5th Grade

Unit

The American Revolution

Grade

5th Grade

Example Type

Handout

Students learning about how economic choices can have positive impacts. It is really helpful to have a space where we can add to student learning and showcase student work throughout the unit.

Unit

Economic Choices

Grade

4th Grade

Example Type

Investigation Questions Anchor Chart

Students learning about how economic choices can have positive impacts. It is really helpful to have a space where we can add to student learning and showcase student work throughout the unit.

Additional Info

Amanda Hargadine from Canby School District: OR, 4th Grade

Unit

Economic Choices

Grade

4th Grade

Example Type

Investigation Questions Anchor Chart

My students created dioramas to show globalization in different settings. One group created a diorama showing Epcot/Disney World. Another group showed how different places receive products. They were very engaged and excited to show the meaning of globalization and how we are connected as a community and world.

Unit

Global Connections

Grade

3rd Grade

Example Type

Final Product

My students created dioramas to show globalization in different settings. One group created a diorama showing Epcot/Disney World. Another group showed how different places receive products. They were very engaged and excited to show the meaning of globalization and how we are connected as a community and world.

Additional Info

Talitha Cutchin from Roaring Fork School District: CO, 3rd Grade

Unit

Global Connections

Grade

3rd Grade

Example Type

Final Product

Each student chose something that they would like to change or improve at our school. We chose placards and a peaceful protest march to practice responsible citizenship because we saw it more than one of our classroom read-alouds during the unit. We then created a prototype and used that to create our final project. We then marched around the second floor shouting and showing with our placards what we wanted.

Unit

Civic Engagement

Grade

1st Grade

Example Type

Final Product

Each student chose something that they would like to change or improve at our school. We chose placards and a peaceful protest march to practice responsible citizenship because we saw it more than one of our classroom read-alouds during the unit. We then created a prototype and used that to create our final project. We then marched around the second floor shouting and showing with our placards what we wanted.

Additional Info

from , 1st Grade

Unit

Civic Engagement

Grade

1st Grade

Example Type

Final Product

The students decided to bring families together to form a stronger community by encouraging our school families to donate new school supplies to a local school for children with disabilites that didn't have any art supplies.

Unit

Families Near and Far

Grade

1st Grade

Example Type

Anchor Chart

The students decided to bring families together to form a stronger community by encouraging our school families to donate new school supplies to a local school for children with disabilites that didn't have any art supplies.

Additional Info

Ali Golfetto from Quality Schools International: IT, 1st Grade

Unit

Families Near and Far

Grade

1st Grade

Example Type

Anchor Chart

Unit

Native America

Grade

5th Grade

Example Type

Final Product

Additional Info

Alba Figueroa from Kipp Texas, Inc.: TX, 5th Grade

Unit

Native America

Grade

5th Grade

Example Type

Final Product

Unit

Navigating School

Grade

Kindergarten

Example Type

Final Product

Additional Info

Hanan Attiyah from Flemington-Raritan School District: NJ, Kindergarten

Unit

Navigating School

Grade

Kindergarten

Example Type

Final Product

Unit

Meeting Needs and Wants

Grade

2nd Grade

Example Type

Final Product

Additional Info

Jenny Herkins from Lakota Local School District: OH, 2nd Grade

Unit

Meeting Needs and Wants

Grade

2nd Grade

Example Type

Final Product

Unit

Natural Resources of the U.S.

Grade

4th Grade

Example Type

Final Product

Additional Info

Mira Winograd from Roaring Fork School District: CO, 4th Grade

Unit

Natural Resources of the U.S.

Grade

4th Grade

Example Type

Final Product

Our scholars enjoyed incorporating painting, illustrating and collaborative arrangement to create and design this mural now hung in the main office hall of Detroit Premier Academy.

Unit

Our Special Location

Grade

1st Grade

Example Type

Final Product

Our scholars enjoyed incorporating painting, illustrating and collaborative arrangement to create and design this mural now hung in the main office hall of Detroit Premier Academy.

Additional Info

MONIQUE CZARNECKI from National Heritage Academies - Parent District: NC, MI, NY, CO, 1st Grade

Unit

Our Special Location

Grade

1st Grade

Example Type

Final Product

Unit

Native America

Grade

5th Grade

Example Type

Final Product

Additional Info

Alba Figueroa from Kipp Texas, Inc.: TX, 5th Grade

Unit

Native America

Grade

5th Grade

Example Type

Final Product

Unit

Families Near and Far

Grade

1st Grade

Example Type

Final Product

Additional Info

MONIQUE CZARNECKI from National Heritage Academies - Parent District: NC, MI, NY, CO, 1st Grade

Unit

Families Near and Far

Grade

1st Grade

Example Type

Final Product

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