In June 1990, the research group at George Mason University (Virginia) Center for Interactive Educational Technology began designing a multimedia prototype to foster higher-order thinking skills in social studies. As an initial step, the Civil War Interactive Project using the Ken Burns documentary, "The Civil War," was used in a design demonstration. This computer-based instructional system will teach a systematic process for developing higher-order skills while learning how to engage in historical inquiry. Work on the generic instructional shell has identified the following elements to be addressed in the design of effective instructional multimedia products: (1) explicit instruction; (2) modeling; (3) tutoring/coaching; (4) student control through "custom tours" of the data and the production console; (5) cooperative learning; (6) equity of access to information; (7) quality of the database; and (8) professional development. Application of the multimedia shell in the Civil War Interactive Project is illustrated through the experiences of three students. The prototype products that the project will produce will help demonstrate how to harness the instructional power of emerging multimedia technologies. (Contains 54 references.) (SLD)