Staging activities are crucial for engaging students in social studies through inquiry-based learning, writes Matthew Bornstein-Grove, an instructional coach and former high-school social studies teacher. Effective staging bridges students' experiences with academic concepts, making complex thinking accessible and creating a need to learn more, writes Bornstein-Grove, who offers practical tips for designing impactful staging lessons.

Student achievement has yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels five years after the onset of COVID-19, according to a report from Curriculum Associates. The report, based on data from more than 11 million K-8 students, shows modest gains in reading, but progress in math is slower, with students still lagging behind 2019 benchmarks by as much as 17 percentage points.

Amplify CEO Larry Berger and Chief Product Officer Alexandra Walsh emphasize the importance of teacher involvement in curriculum decisions, noting that teacher committees ensure thorough evaluation and broader acceptance of educational materials. They also highlight challenges in integrating teacher feedback due to regulatory constraints, advocating for structural changes to allow continuous improvement of curriculum based on real classroom experiences.

Alabama's new law banning phones in classrooms has led to immediate positive changes, says history teacher Jonathan Buchwalter, who notes students are more engaged, taking notes, completing assignments and socializing more. The law is part of a broader trend, with 33 states enacting similar legislation to address concerns about mental health and academic performance related to smartphone addiction.

A digital divide in AI education is emerging, with affluent schools more likely to offer AI training than those in low-income and rural areas, according to research from Arizona State University. AI4All, a free summer camp at Princeton University, aims to bridge this gap by teaching high-school students from low-income families about AI.

A Student Advisory Council has been formed to work alongside the Lynn School Committee in Massachusetts to provide a formal platform for student input on school matters. Students from across the district elected five high-schoolers to the council, which will work to ensure student perspectives are actively included in district discussions.

Amid political tensions, educators are turning to programs like Utah Valley University's Constitutional Literacy Institute and the Center for Civic Education's We the People curriculum for tools to teach civics without partisanship. Civic education can also help students build skills such as speaking and writing that are seen as essential for both democracy and literacy. "We're seeing an opportunity to show that if you do civics well, you will hit those literacy outcomes," said Donna Phillips, president and CEO of the Center for Civic Education.

Rho Kappa is the only national organization for high-school juniors and seniors that recognizes excellence in the field of Social Studies. Any accredited public or private high school can apply for a local chapter, through which individuals will be inducted into Rho Kappa Honor Society.