Current Issues
Classroom activities to engage students in learning about and discussing issues in the news
Students experience how a range of Latinx illustrators touch on language, identity, and self-expression through their comics – including an exploration of the meaning and significance of terms such as Latinx, Hispanic, Latino, and Latina.
Indigenous People's Day and Native American Heritage Month (in November) are an opportunity to learn about Indigenous peoples' history, culture, and perspectives.
Students process some of the current research on cell phone use, interview a family member to share their learning, and perhaps co-create a class plan to reduce phone distractions.
Students consider what it might feel like to be a refugee and how we can welcome newcomers. Older students discuss the Afghan refugees arriving in the U.S. and how we could support them.
Students discuss the historical role of unions in the U.S. - and how a younger generation of workers is seeking to build unions that address their needs.
Students discuss the concept of Ubuntu, or interconnectedness, then consider the news this summer and its impact on us and on others around the world.
English teacher Sarah Outterson-Murphy provides brief descriptions of a range of short stories and novels exploring a changing climate, with questions for discussion. (Updated August 2021) See the updated and expanded guide.
Students explore the debate over the U.S.'s rising military budget and where young people stand on the issue.
Students dive into a new report documenting how little the very rich are taxed - and what that might mean for the rest of us.
Congress has passed and President Biden has signed a new law making Juneteenth a federal holiday. Students learn about and discuss Juneteenth.