Five U.S. History investigations prepare students to write Counterarguments about historical or social issues in speeches and letters to contemporary audiences. Counterargument tasks call for students to share claims, evidence, and reasoning in support of their position, as well as recognize and address challenging or conflicting arguments. Students draw on their earlier work with Critiques when they share their reasoning to critique, rebut, or reconcile possible counterarguments. The writing task sets a purpose for each investigation, whether trying to understand the perspective of people in the past in the Colonial Women, Presidency, and Abolitionism investigations or thinking about issues of representation in the Trail of Tears and Reconstruction investigations. Each investigation creates a process for social studies inquiry and writing across five days that begins with making connections to students’ lives and extending their incoming knowledge. Check out the Writing Progression page on our website to learn about the different styles of argument writing that are supported by RIW investigations.