This professional development session will equip educators with essential tools to take Social Studies to the next level, leveraging standards to create compelling questions while exploring historical thinking skills. Participants will learn to design purposeful assessments using formative techniques and Claim-Evidence-Reasoning frameworks while addressing how to select appropriate primary and secondary sources. Educators will walk away with strategies to craft engaging learning experiences that foster deep understanding, civil discourse, and skill development in Social Studies classrooms. Session #1 will help participants build a foundation by connecting academic standards to compelling questions. The first of three historical thinking skills (Causation) will also be explored. Session #2 will center on creating opportunities that promote student understanding of the content and compelling questions by utilizing formative assessment techniques and claim-evidence-reasoning frameworks. The second of three historical thinking skills (Comparison) will be explored. Session #3 will guide participants in selecting and analyzing primary and secondary sources to encourage deeper inquiry and discussion. We will explore how to choose primary and secondary sources to facilitate learning along with strategies to support analysis. The final historical thinking skill of our series - Contextualization - will be explored.