Current Issues

Classroom activities to engage students in learning about and discussing issues in the news

Students review and reflect on the news that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been declared winners of the 2020 presidential election.

Students consider four key issues discussed by Donald Trump and Joe Biden in the October 22, 2020 presidential debate: the Covid pandemic, healthcare, racism, and the climate crisis.

Students discuss recent cases of forced sterilization, explore the history of this horrific practice, then do some research of their own.

This lesson engages students in giving thanks for Breonna Taylor’s life, while offering space to share their impressions, feelings, experiences, and thoughts around the tragic circumstances of her death.

Students learn about the growing effort to acknowledge the Indigenous people whose lands we inhabit - and create their own land acknowledgment statement.

What are the obstacles to a smooth and fair election in November 2020, and how might they be overcome? Students read about, discuss, and research the question.

Students deepen their understanding of an aspect of Indigenous peoples' relationship with the earth through two short films about peoples’ resistance to the loss of access to clean drinking water.

Students reflect on the issues they care about in the 2020 presidential election, research those issues, and discuss what it's like to talk with those who disagree with us. 

Students consider what “white supremacy” means, what groups in society have supremacy, and explore the origins of white supremacy through a short video and discussion.

This activity invites students to hear the words of Jacob Blake’s mother and sister, and to reflect on their own thoughts and feelings about the police shooting in Kenosha Wisconsin, and its impact.