Today we looked at social studies professions and what each does. Along the way, we worked to combat the henchmen of Dr Maria Shuntroy, our main villain in our #IndianaJones yearlong storyline. Tomorrow we tackle coordinates that will take us to Ireland to stop the bad guys! #EduSky #gamification

Currently 3D printing obsidian blades, flint arrowheads next. Trying to think of items I can print for students to “excavate” in a simulation on basic archaeology. If it goes well, we’ll excavate for specific ancient civilizations each unit. Any suggested items I can print for the launch?

Grabbed resealable “team bags” & created starter packs of 5 item cards for my gamified Ancient Civilizations class. Printed stickers with logo for this year’s game “Indiana Jones and the Shadow of Kukulkan.” In 2nd week of school when kids successfully complete a mission, the packs get distributed.

We’ve got Spree Day tomorrow morning, and I’ll be doing a shift in the dunk tank. While I do my best carnival barker routine up there, taunting the kids before they chuck softballs at the target, this year I’ve added a customized shirt.

Wrapped up April break with a 5K in northeastern Connecticut this morning. Cool temps, a few hills, and a good reminder: progress isn’t always flat or easy, but you keep moving forward. Now it’s back to school for the final stretch of the year. Time to refocus, reset, and finish strong.

In #education, we spend a lot of time searching for answers. But the work really starts with questions. Reading & thinking about leadership inside and outside of schools, has me rethinking what it means to listen first. Some reflections here: open.substack.com/pub/fieldnot... #edusky #leadership

Start with Questions

What Imagineering Education and the WooSox have taught me about listening, leadership, and building better school communities

open.substack.com

Last year, a real-world moment shaped one of the most engaging experiences I’ve run in my classroom. This year, that moment wasn’t there. Instead of starting over, I kept the structure and adapted the story. Some thoughts on what actually made it work: open.substack.com/pub/fieldnot... #edusky

Don’t Start Over, Redesign the Story

Why strong instructional structure matters more than the storyline, and how I redesigned a gamified unit without starting over

open.substack.com

A good lesson matters. But the experience of the classroom matters just as much. I’ve been working on that for a while, and #ImagineeringEducation has helped sharpen it. open.substack.com/pub/fieldnot... #edusky #teachers #education

Designing the Classroom Experience

Reflections on immersive learning, classroom design, and insights from "Imagineering Education"

open.substack.com

For the Friday before April break, once work is complete a dice rolling game across the Mediterranean. As we collect murex snails for the ancient Phoenicians, Indiana Jones and crew have to contend with weather, shipwrecks, and his rival Dr. Maria Shuntroy. #EduSky #emc2learning #xplap #gamification

When @lemanskyrachel.bsky.social talks you up but you feel like you’ve coasted this year, you create brand new missions and elements to use. The week before April break will have plenty of storyline and gamified elements, starting with Operation Purple Tide. #EduSky

Thoroughly enjoyed seeing the kids work through #EMC2Learning’s Wiki Wars activity in History Club. Depending on which class they were in, their task was to get to Anne of Cleves from either the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead or from King Tut. It was really fun to see their pathways! #EduSky

Our Mesopotamian Museum artifacts now on display at school for a few weeks. Lots of great work by the kids!

When your 9 year old comes home and tells you he’s got a historical figure wax museum project coming up and has chosen to be Paul McCartney you know you’ve done something right! #MiniMacca

a black and white photo of a man with long hair making a face .

Alt: a black and white photo of Paul McCartney making a face .

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Reposting largely as a reminder to myself to explore more deeply, but take a look if it feels like it may be a fit for you…

Jeremy Jorgensen | Helping teachers become happier and STRONGer.@why-edify.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Here's a snapshot of the STRONG Teachers Lounge classroom and resources. My goal is to add value bit by bit. Right now, community access is free to all educators.

You know who really loves Drake Maye after this game?

Today we took a look at the day-to-day problems people faced during rapid growth in ancient Mesopotamia. After brainstorming possible problems, then sorting and categorizing a number of issues actually faced, students drew or used PlayDoh to represent those problems. #edusky #tlap

Now that it’s here and the 3-day weekend gives me a chance to just sit a bit, it’s time to crack open the new @meehanedu.bsky.social & @mrmatera.bsky.social book! #edusky

Happy National Bobblehead Day! #bobblehead #nationalbobbleheadday #baseball #woosox

Loads of activity lately. We wrapped up the Stone Age with a review in which we tossed “Stone Age Axes”, and we’ve moved on to the geography of Mesopotamia. We looked at the land and importance of the Tigris & Euphrates. We explored maps with an Egg Dash Challenge and today built 3D maps using LEGO.

I just registered for a half marathon next fall. I’m not totally sure when running 13.1 miles became a reasonable decision, but here we are. This will be either the start of something great… or a fascinating case study in questionable decision-making. Future Shaun… apologies in advance.

Tired of missing when students level up in my gamified classroom, so I built the ultimate classroom control tower to log XP and had it automate badges, alerts, leaderboards, legacy records, & more via Canva AI coding! Huuuuge win! moriartyhistory.blogspot.com/2025/11/xp-b... #EduSky #gamification

XP, Badges, Alerts ... Oh, My! Building the Ultimate Classroom Control Tower

The possibilities are endless, and I'm trying to explore them all! My new method of logging XP gains for students in my gamified classroom. ...

moriartyhistory.blogspot.com

Ever had a classroom idea you KNEW would be awesome … until the logistics crushed your soul? Same. But Canva’s new AI code generator just brought my #CarlAzuz fantasy news league back from the dead! Here’s how. 👇🏼 moriartyhistory.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-... #EduSky #tlap #Canva #AI

The Project I Almost Gave Up On (Until AI Changed Everything)

At long last, I've finally conquered the World!  The World From A to Z with Carl Azuz , that is. It was more than a year ago that I came up ...

moriartyhistory.blogspot.com

Finally made it happen: a fully automated Fantasy News League for “The World From A to Z” with #CarlAzuz, built with Canva’s AI code generating tools. Scores updated in real time as I enter news segments we watch, weekly recaps, and a ton of student excitement. Meet the Headline Hunters. #EduSky

Infinitely awed by the Aurora Borealis. Each and every time. Awed. #aurora

Tried out #Canva AI code-generation last night, creating a digital escape room activity for our Stone Age unit. Set it in a cave filled with Paleolithic cave art. Several short rounds of iteration last night to get 10 puzzles of varying difficulty and the kids loved it. Huge win! #EduSky

The big guy set a new PR with the #Flutie5K this morning, his first sub-30 finish! He said it’s his “favorite race ever” because of the PR and getting to meet and talk with Doug Flutie.

A bit of the Triple Threat Throwdpwn today as we prepared for a summative assessment tomorrow on hominids. Working in small groups, students had only themselves to pull from as they took what we’ve learned and applied it to sketch notes, LEGO builds, and story cubes. #edusky #emc2learning

One of my favorite things about teaching in Oxford is the strength of the little league program. Every year, baseball becomes a quick and easy bond for me and a number of students. They’re playing one heck of a game under the lights tonight for the fall tournament championship!

Interesting data in the current @neatoday.bsky.social that says fewer teachers are considering leaving the classroom than in recent years. What’s driving the shift? Better support? Job market shifts? Resilience? Being further removed from the pandemic? Something else? #edusky #MAedu

Today my class went on a Carmen Sandiego-style fossil chase to wrap up the week. Curious to hear: What’s a favorite gamified activity you’ve used to keep students engaged? Let’s share some ideas! #tlap #sstlap #edusky #xplap #emc2learning

a computer screen shows a man and woman in a courtroom with the words guilty guilty guilty

Alt: a computer screen from the classic PC game “Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?”

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