Current Issues
Classroom activities to engage students in learning about and discussing issues in the news
In this brief Teachable Instant activity, students learn about how organizing by Black students and their allies at the University of Missouri led to the resignation of the university's president and helped spark a wave of organizing on campuses nationwide.
What is 'democratic socialism'? Bernie Sanders' presidential bid is raising a question many Americans have never considered. In two readings, students explore Sanders' version of socialism and learn some background about democratic socialism in Europe and the U.S.
This brief Teachable Instant activity explores the fight over the Keystone XL Pipeline - and how climate activists finally succeeded in defeating the project.
In this brief Teachable Instant activity, students learn some facts about the death penalty, discuss the 2016 presidential candidates' positions on the issue, and consider strongest arguments for and against capital punishment.
What do we do about the high cost of college and rocketing student debt? This brief Teachable Instant activity explores the 2016 presidential candidates' positions, encourages critical thinking on the numbers, and invites student research.
Students learn about the growing movement by climate change activists to get universities and other institutions to divest from fossil fuels and explore the connection between this movement and the successful divestment campaign against apartheid South Africa.
In this brief Teachable Instant classroom activity, students survey the 2016 presidential candidates' positions on gun control and begin exploring some of the complex underlying issues.
The abrupt resignation of House Speaker John Boehner reflects deep divisions within the GOP. In this brief activity, students explore the roots of the GOP power struggle.
Can we trust what the presidential candidates are telling us? How can we know what is true and not true? This brief classroom lesson explores fact-checking and the 2016 presidential campaign.
Students share their thoughts and feelings about the experience of Ahmed Mohamed, a 14-year-old boy, a Muslim, who was arrested when school staff feared that the clock he had constructed and brought to school was a bomb. Students read and discuss tweets from #IStandwithAhmed and view a brief video...