Social studies teacher Amy Shaw, an educator at Indian Hills Middle School in Sandy, Utah, recently shared her collection of memorabilia from the 2002 Olympic Games with her class on Utah history for a unit on how the games affected the state. Shaw's unit is timely, with the 2024 Summer Olympics approaching and the International Olympic Committee considering Utah as the host for the 2034 Winter Games, and Shaw noting that students might attend or volunteer for events in 10 years.

Alachua County Public Schools in Florida and The League of Women Voters organized a countywide competition challenging middle-school students' civic literacy, with teams from six schools facing off in a family feud-style game. The winning team from Lincoln Middle School received a trophy, and plans are in place to expand the competition to high schools next year.

Budget negotiations are underway in New York state on a proposed "universal FAFSA" policy, which would require all high-school seniors to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Advocates say that the law could help more students access aid they are eligible for and increase college attendance, but many public school leaders have expressed concern about implementing the necessary support for students in completing the form.

Pennsylvania Sen. Ryan Aument, R-Lancaster, is advocating for a pilot program to curb student cellphone use in schools by offering grants for lockers to store phones during the school day. Aument's proposed legislation would be inaccessible by students amid rising concerns about phone habits, teen depression rates and drops in academic scores.

Around one-third of teachers are either regularly using tools powered by AI in their work or have made initial attempts, with social studies and English-language arts teachers among the most common users, according to a RAND survey. Some teachers may be unaware that AI is embedded in some tools they already use, noted the report's authors, who found that AI-powered tools are used most commonly to create classroom materials and individualize instructional content for students.

Burned human remains from a ninth-century Maya pyramid could have belonged to a ruler and been left by a public ritual desecration to mark a regime change, according to a study in Antiquity. The discovery in modern-day Guatemala is a rare archaeological record of historic upheaval, likely a takeover by the leader Papmalil, who favored horizontal political ties and sparked fundamental changes to social structures, says lead author Christina Halperin.

More than 400 solar panels were recently added to a 500-year-old English Gothic chapel at the University of Cambridge's King's College, sparking debate over the values of historical preservation and energy sustainability. Opponents of the project say that the panels mar the chapel's exterior, but advocates say that their visual profile is not excessively noticeable and that the panels, along with panels on nearby buildings, will help decrease the college's electricity demand by about 5.5%.

NCSS invites its members to apply to volunteer on an Operations Committee, Awards and Grant Selection committee, or Rho Kappa Advisory Council. This is an opportunity to help shape the future of Social Studies education, and build your professional resume. Applications are due April 26. Learn more.

Craft your own classroom-ready inquiries and learn about the benefits and challenges of building an inquiry culture in your school and district from the writers of the C3 Framework and Inquiry Design Model. This two-day in-person experience will take place July 22 to 23 in Washington, D.C. Register now.