- Focus on the big ideas with an accessible print student text built around Essential Questions, enduring ideas, and NCSS Standards. - Put your social studies students in the middle of the action with The Story Matters chapter openers, Biography features, maps, and timelines. - Maximize comprehension with the Reading Help Desk in each lesson to assist students with reading strategies, note-taking activities, graphic organizers, and vocabulary support. - Build critical thinking and historical analysis skills with features such as Thinking Like a Historian, It Matters Because, What Do You Think, and Connections to Today.