Testimonials

“The DBQ training and materials are the best professional development for helping history teachers teach students to read, write, and think critically about historical questions.  Our TAH teachers are "on fire" and now they have spread the word to their world history colleagues.  It is great to see whole departments get behind this effort.  As Common Core Standards begin to be implemented the DBQ will be a great foundational piece.  Thank you to The DBQ Project for a relevant and needed program for history teachers.”

“The DBQ Project is one of the best professional development presentations in the country.  DBQs are an excellent way to incorporate historical thinking with reading and writing, at all levels.  Our teachers from elementary to high school use DBQs to reinforce their instruction.  The DBQ Project workshop is down to earth, practical, and entertaining.  It is a can't miss concept.”

“Our teachers love The DBQ Project!  They leave the workshop energized and well-equipped to incorporate primary sources in their lesson plan immediately.  The DBQ Project is an excellent workshop for World and U.S. History teachers on all levels.”

“I appreciate that authentic literacy is woven throughout the entire instructional process when using DBQs. DBQs provide teachers with a wealth of primary and secondary sources, which is what Common Core Literacy Standards require teachers to use. The DBQ project has done the "searching and finding" of quality resources, which is the most time-consuming task for teachers. I appreciate how The DBQ Project has made this process accessible to all students with scaffolding available as needed for teacher use- no longer a "gem" just for AP students! This holds much promise for our district.”

“The DBQ Project engages and challenges students of all ability levels. We have been able to successfully use these materials with students in grades as low as fourth. As a Curriculum Coordinator I have seen many teachers implement dbqs in their classrooms. The process outlined by the DBQ Project provides step-by –step instructions to attain high quality results. One of the most valuable steps I have witnessed is the "thrash out". This acts a pre-writing activity and allows students to formalize their thoughts and gain more insight as they enter into the writing process.”

“What I like about the DBQ project is that it takes this process of historical inquiry and analysis and breaks it down into six manageable steps that you can walk your students through. I have seen teachers become more confident in teaching the writing process because of these steps. Teachers at North East ISD spend time explicitly using scaffolds during document analysis. They think out loud, and model marking the text before students are asked to analyze on their own. As a district, we meet several times a year and use protocols to analyze student writing samples. We monitor to make sure that our students are learning the process from sixth grade through 11th grade.”

“The DBQ project is clearly aligned with best practice. The materials support teachers in implementing the Common Core as well as engage students in interesting social studies content. The trainings provide teachers with strategies that are relevant when implementing a single DBQ project, but there are many best practice strategies that also can be used independent of the project.”

“Before now, the benefits of the Document Based Questions have been almost exclusively limited to the AP classroom.  But, with The DBQ Project materials and training, all of our students are starting to benefit.  Plus, with the focus on how Social Studies teachers can contribute to the Common Core and the emphasis on non-fiction informational texts, this is a great fit.  We are only in the beginning stages of implementation, but I already like what I am seeing in classrooms.”

“The Mini-Qs for World History are perfect for developing CCSS primary source reading skills and I really appreciate how well they fit into my curriculum as seminar discussions as well as essays. My students became very comfortable with primary documents after using the mini-q structure over the course of a semester and I was able to give them larger readings that they may not have had the ability to do previously.”

“The DBQ project brings extra enthusiasm into the classroom. Students get so excited to read each document provided and use evidence from the document to argue their answer to the questions. Thrash-outs/debates have become more interesting and persuasive essays are more thorough.”

“I had 2 previous students visit today. They asked if I still did "DBQs". When I said yes, they said they were the best thing we did in class. They helped them in High School more than anything else. One of the students said that if they had not done DBQs he never would have been able to do the writing he was assigned. Way to go DBQ Project!!!”

“I appreciate that this is an inquiry model of instruction that provides opportunities for students to read complex texts, exercise critical thinking, and write to communicate their thinking. The scaffolds in the process with the "buckets" and the "chicken foot" assist both students AND the teacher through the inquiry process. Additionally, our DBQ Project trainer is the best! In the training she paused often to allow for questions about the process.”

“You did a training about 2 weeks ago that I attended. OH MY!  I love DBQ's!  I have to say that I seriously had the best day teaching ever! The kids were totally engaged and on task.  Even the kids who "check out" were spot on. If anyone ever questions 5th graders being able to do this (with scaffolding), they are wrong!  I want to copy and paste this day! I am so inspired!”

“They work! I've used both the regular DBQ's and the Mini-Q's in both World History (regular and honors 9th grade) and AP US History. They fit in well with my APUSH curriculum, but the real test came last year with my 9th grade World History class: the DBQ's were the only way I could engage my class in writing. They felt empowered, they had fun, and they learned how to write using evidence and analysis.”