The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards calls upon social studies teachers to enhance the rigor of civics, economics, geography, history and the other social studies disciplines while building the critical thinking, problem solving, and participatory skills of students to help them become actively engaged citizens in the twenty-first century. Like the Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards, the C3 Framework emphasizes the acquisition and application of deep content knowledge through an inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning. The Four Dimensions of the C3 Framework center on the use of questions to spark curiosity, guide instruction, deepen investigations, acquire rigorous social studies content, and apply knowledge and ideas in real world settings. This article suggests ways in which teachers can chart a course toward implementation of C3, review the progress that is made, and identify obstacles to accomplishing the objectives. For teachers, the process of implementation can be a journey of examination and reflection on their own teaching practices. The results of success can be dramatic: to enliven the study of civics, economics, geography, and history so that these subjects are exciting, engaging, rigorous, and meaningful to students. Two accompanying reproducible handouts focus on initiatives that schools can take to implement the C3 Framework by identifying instructional shifts that will need to be made, and developing a plan of action.