Current Issues
Classroom activities to engage students in learning about and discussing issues in the news
NBA player Jason Collins recently became the first openly gay athlete in a major American team sport. In this activity, students read some of Collins' coming out statement, discuss it, and then consider their views on the impact coming out can have, both personally and for society.
President Obama's recent proposal to cut Social Security's cost-of-living increases is part of a major national debate, but one that many students know little about. In this activity, students find out about Social Security by interviewing a senior family member or friend about it, and through...
Our guidelines for talking with children about sensitive issues and suggestions for countering anti-Muslim or anti-Arab bias may be helpful in the wake of the Boston Marathon attack.
This lesson is designed to get students to think critically about hot-button issues such as the "fiscal cliff," "sequestration," and the ongoing debate about the US budget. Two student readings examine the general debate about the budget and the human impact of budget cuts and sequestration...
This activity uses a 6-minute video about wealth inequality that has gone viral on the internet with small-group activities to help students explore what they think U.S. wealth distribution currently is, what they think it should be, what it actually is, and what they might do about it. (For a non...
A wave of protests by Walmart workers highlights the low wages and anti-union climate facing workers at Walmart - and many other companies. In two readings, students explore the debate over Walmart’s business model and labor practices and find out about recent protests at Walmart stores across the...
In the wake of the tragic school shooting in Newtown, CT, students learn about and discuss renewed calls for gun control and the National Rifle Association's history of successfully resisting such reforms.
Students discuss Dr. King’s views about alliance-building; consider these in light of Obama’s inauguration; learn about the alliance-building work of Ai-jen Poo, founder of Domestic Workers United; and think about things in their own lives that they might want to build alliances to change.
We're deeply saddened by the tragic killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Here are resources aimed at helping families and educators comfort young ones and help explain this violent event.
A one-day strike by fast food workers in New York City is a teachable moment for students on the fast food industry and worker organizing. This lesson includes a brainstorm, small-group readings and discussion, and an opinion continuum activity to get students thinking about these issues.