Provides strategies to engage students in science activities and explorations that draw on their big questions, then help build their capacity to defend their claims. Striking a balance between the "why" and the "how", explains how to: teach argumentation, a 21st century career skill; adapt existing science curricula for inquiry-based learning to meet current requirements; effectively differentiate scientific instruction for multiple intelligences to drive student achievement; improve students' language arts, analytic, and communication skills through inquiry-based instruction; and, develop your own inquiry-based mindset.

Constructing an understanding of science inquiry -- Integrating language arts and argumentation into science -- Choosing to become an inquiry-based teacher -- Developing a mindset for inquiry -- Different approaches for teaching through inquiry -- Designing problem-solving and inquiry- and argument-based investigations -- Managing the inquiry-based classroom -- Developing effective questioning skills for science inquiry -- Assessing science inquiry -- Creating a classroom culture of inquiry and argyumentation -- Resource A. Resources for teachers -- Resource B. Lever lesson plan -- Resource C. Bottle -- Resource D. Rubric for becoming an inquiry-based teacher -- resource E. Inquiry self-assessment response grids -- Resource F. Inquiry self-assessment summary matrix -- Resource G. Shoret-eared and long-eared bugs-o-copters -- Resource H. Investigating Oobleck -- Resource I. Seven segments of inquiry -- Resource J. How to make a Cartesian driver -- Resource K. Touch squares -- Resource L. 18 concept statements.