In general, moving from structured to guided to open inquiry means increasing student thinking and responsibility—at the highest level, students come up with questions to investigate, figure out how to answer those questions, decide what to observe, and interpret meanings behind the resulting data. However, students often begin the school year unfamiliar with the kind of thinking required at this level. Presented early on with an open-ended inquiry activity, students may react with confusion or—worse—a general feeling that inquiry “does not work.” How do you avoid this? In this month’s column, you’ll learn how to implement inquiry-based activities and investigations successfully in the high school science classroom.