The National Science Education Standards (NSES) and the Biological Science Curriculum Study (BSCS) address the need for teachers to move classrooms toward an inquiry approach to learning. Currently, there is movement toward a new structure for science standards, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). In this article, I will take the five key ideas from the NSES, the BSCS 5 Es, and the three dimensions of the framework of NGSS and identify similarities. They represent the ideas around which we will be building a practice of inquiry, applied to overall classroom practice. Guidance in the form of reflective questions will be suggested as a way to adapt existing practice. The goal is to create an environment supportive of both the teacher and student inquiry.