This article argues that the best way to increase inquiry-based instruction is paradoxically to pay more attention to direct instruction because excessive attention to practices like close reading of texts and facilitating text-based discussions has led to neglect of content knowledge explanation as a core instructional practice. This article begins by exploring the centrality of background knowledge for meaningful inquiry and then considers what happens when such knowledge is absent from secondary classroom instruction. The second section examines reasons for the absence of pedagogical attention to acquiring background knowledge. The final section proposes a model of direct instruction, offering concrete examples focused on the expansion of Islam in West Africa. The article concludes with reflections on this model of instruction.