Current Issues
Classroom activities to engage students in learning about and discussing issues in the news
This lesson invites students to examine reasons why Americans may not vote, both in the past and in the present. Students will gain a deeper understanding of the struggle for voting rights and will explore why the ability to vote means so much to many Americans.
A new UN report on climate disruption points to the need for immediate action. In this lesson, students discuss the report and what kind of response it requires.
Young people are suing the U.S. government over climate change, and their case comes before federal court on October 29, 2018. In this lesson, students examine the suit, read the personal testimony of two of the plaintiffs, and consider other strategies that young people are using to affect climate...
This lesson considers various statements by President Trump about immigration, and invites students to examine the facts on both sides.
2018 is the 50th anniversary of a landmark protest at the Miss America beauty pageant. The protest was part of a new period of feminist activism—one with renewed significance in the #MeToo era. In this lesson, students learn the details of the protest using an original document and explore how the...
Students think about the impact of a letter to the editor, analyze a sampling of letters and identify what makes them effective, and write letters of their own about issues they care about.
Students read one high school senior’s perspective on what teenagers are learning from the Kavanaugh hearings, and share their own perspectives.
Young people are listening to the controversy over Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, and they are talking about it. How can educators safely and productively bring these conversations into their school and classrooms?
Students learn about and discuss what impeachment is, how it works, and the possibility of impeachment for President Donald Trump stemming from the ongoing Department of Justice investigation.
In August and September 2018, prisoners in at least 30 prisons across 16 states engaged in strike actions. Through a quiz, reading, and discussion, students learn some facts about U.S. prisons and recent prison protests.