Alright #sschat people! Anything exciting going on in your classroom this week?

‪As a pre-teen, I spent some time after school as an Interpol sub-contractor using my geography and research skills to help them retrieve stolen goods and capture a criminal mastermind and her crime syndicate. ‬

New post! I built a gamified DBQ skill builder where teachers assign students 2–3 specific rubric skills based on what they need. Those focus areas sync to student copies, guide their quests,& feed back into tracker for feedback. All built in Google Sheets. michaelkmilton.com/2026/03/03/t...

I made a vocabulary warm up game for my students earlier this year as a Google Sheet. Over the break, I adapted it to a website. And now...Vocab Crusher is ALIVE!! Paste terms. Choose a mode. Hit Smash. Take a look! I’d love feedback! vocabcrusher.com

Ten years ago I made a vocabulary review game I’ve been using ever since: Vocab Connect. It worked great but setup was clunky, so I never shared it. A snow day gave me a few unexpected hours, & I finally fixed that part. Wrote about the game (& the update) here: michaelkmilton.com/2026/02/03/v...

Please consider joining SEA - Stop Education Acronyms. Acronyms peaked with scuba & while PEMDAS came close to that in education we should wave the white flag. The ones you learned this year pale in comparison. It will be ok. The post acronym education world might be wordier but it will be clearer.

This is a write-up of a project where I turned the AP DBQ into a skill-based quest structure, complete with levels and XP, and built around the rubric, revision, and real-time feedback. I even brought my old blog back to life to share it. michaelkmilton.com/2026/01/06/l... #sschat

One of the neatest projects I worked on this year was for my AP World students: breaking up and gamifying the DBQ into what I call DBQ Guild: Questline I. Using the AP rubric, I turned each skill into a separate quest students could practice and level up through. It was a lot of fun. #sschat

@swanversations.bsky.social what’s happening now? How are things?

The Phantom really have music teachers a bad rap for a bit there.

This is probably very stupid - but I’m trying to make a game-y learning the DBQ thing for my AP World kids. I also learned some very annoyingly awesome Google sheets tricks along the way. This is still a bud of an idea-it could be fun. I might have cut back some levels to make it more manageable.

For a course on AI in the classroom we had to make a Gem -a little chatbot that you give it text as parameters to talk to you about (Gemini) Then I found out you could give it rules - which I interpreted for my amusement. It loved only sequels, punctuation hated owls & had nightmares about Calhoun.

“Turn it up to 6-7” This is Spinal Tap Today

To all of my teacher friends who have been good little boys and girls summer (and are starting tomorrow)- Remember to put out your shoes on this New Year Years Eve and you might find a handful of Expo markers & a mid morning coffee refill in them!

Paying homage to the cat hanging on a rope and Ben Franklin’s attributed line after signing the Declaration on Independence (We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately) - I made this motivational poster (yes, there is some Goonies in there as well.)

Episode 214: Teaching How to Evaluate Online Information with Elizabeth Reynolds In episode 214, Dan and Michael chat with Elizabeth Reynolds about her article published in Theory & Research in Social Education, “Teaching students to evaluate online information in social studies: A comparative…

Someone on Threads noticed you can type any random sentence into Google, then add “meaning” afterwards, and you’ll get an AI explanation of a famous idiom or phrase you just made up. Here is mine

Since President Donald Trump took office, the Park Service, an agency charged with preserving American history, has changed how its website describes key moments from slavery to Jim Crow.

"Can't repeat the past?! Why of course you can, old sport. The past. The past. The past. The past. The pa-" *smack* "Shut up, Gatsby!"

The book "1984" by George Orwell was written in 1949. the equivalent book today would be titled "2025."

I mean, Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ could have been inspired by Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery.

I’ll say this about teaching - the work is mysterious and important.

Ya know how OER has those neat one page biography graphic novel for historical folks in history for AP World - does anyone make things like this for US? I would like to bring more individuals within US history to my class with short and exciting readings. #sschat

Word of the day is a favourite, from old Scots. To ‘tartle’ is to hesitate while introducing someone because you have completely forgotten their name.

The saddest song ever. But it makes the scene make sense!

Getting an annual physical is like getting your body report card that, best case scenario, ends with a senior slide.

Great Throughline episode about Sarah Josepha Hale who championed the idea of Thanksgiving as a national holiday- The Mother of Thanksgiving one.npr.org/i/1214380338... #sschat

Want to be part of our efforts to migrate #sschat to Bluesky? Please share your favorite resources from #NCSS2024 #NCSS24 if you attended. If you weren't at the conference, what are some things you'd like to know, topics you'd like resources about, etc.?

In what turns out to be the worst prize in game show history, for correctly guessing the Sphinx's riddle, Oedipus got to marry his mom.

Hey #sschat What are some of your takeaways from #NCSS2024?

@chitch94.bsky.social @swanversations.bsky.social when is the gang getting back together?

Neat resources from PBS NewsHour Journalism in Action - went to their presentation on their Native American resources at #NCSS2024 www.journalisminaction.org #sschat

Hey, social studies friends! If you'll be attending #NCSS2024 in Boston next weekend, I hope you'll consider dropping into the #sschat unconference in Room 200. It starts at 9:45am Saturday morning and goes until 11:15. No obligation to stay the whole time. The topics are decided on by attendees.

My students are currently playing around with this Overland Trails database which pulls diaries entries from folks heading west. In teams, they are assigned one person to bring their journey to life. #sschat

@chitch94.bsky.social woo hoo!

Let’s go!! #sschat #ncss2024

Heading to #NCSS2024 next week - which is nice at it will just be like a bus ride away!

@jedikermit.bsky.social it is good to see you again, sir

What my AP World kids are up to tomorrow! 4.2 - (admittedly, the image I made for me as my students will probably have not seen the 80s classic) #sschat

Looks like @dankrutka.bsky.social made the switch! #sschat

#sschat Alright folks, what are you excited to teach about this week? Why?

So are we making #sschat happen here or what?

Is the platform formerly known as Twitter migrating over or are there just a bunch of bots joining BlueSky since the election?

For a bit growing up I was sure that my mom made up William Henry Harrison as a way to get me to zip up my jacket and wear a hat in the winter. #presidentsday

There has got to be a classroom application for this, right? Some sort of silly review thing? #sschat

Started Wolfwalkers with the fam- set in Ireland in 1650 with the Lord Protector as the main baddy. Beautifully animated, great story telling, a bit of history and werewolves!

You’re Dead to Me is a wonderful podcast that combines history and comedy! I’ve absolutely used the knowledge in my AP World class this year (and others as well). I’ve had students listen to the shortened Radio edits. Highly recommend! #iteachsocialStudies #sschat

I’ve very much missed being a part of the #sschat community, it was a big part of my early teaching career- I’m happy to test the waters here! #iteachsocialstudies

I’d like to incorporate more biographies in my US I class. I just listened to a great You’re Dead to Me podcast episode on Madame C. M Walker and would love to incorporate it into my class (and other great stories). #iteachsocialstudies