Current Issues

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

Looking for engaging activities on amazing women and their movements? Here’s our collection!  

School boards around the country are embroiled in controversies on issues ranging from the rights of transgender students to teaching on race. Should students have a say on school boards? 

Young people are exposed to more troubling, tragic, and controversial events than ever before, often starting at a young age. Here are steps we can take to address upsetting events in ways that support our students.

In honor of Black History Month, consider these lessons on everything from the story of Black farmers to the history of voter suppression.

Students explore the diversity of names and traditions people in different countries use to celebrate the Lunar New Year, and consider how we can be more inclusive in marking this holiday.

Some suggestions to give your students space to share their thoughts and feelings about the events surrounding the death of Tyre Nichols.

Students explore new angles on the life and ideas of Martin Luther King Jr., and consider their own responses and (re)commitments to justice. 

Studies show that isolation and sadness among young people have increased since the pandemic. Students explore ways to address this problem as a society. 

The gap between rich and poor is still growing. Students examine the evidence, and consider what young people, and others, are doing to raise wages and close the gap.

In a healing circle, students share their responses to the attack on an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs.