Jinnie Spiegler

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? 

This activity is part of the Anti-Defamation League's Table Talk series, which provides conversation starters, questions, and resources for parents to talk with their children about current events.   

This activity is part of the Anti-Defamation League's Table Talk series, which provides conversation starters, questions, and resources for parents to talk with their children about current events.   

This activity is part of the Anti-Defamation League's Table Talk series, which provides conversation starters, questions, and resources for parents to talk with their children about current events.   

This activity is part of the Anti-Defamation League's Table Talk series, which provides conversation starters, questions, and resources for parents to talk with their children about current events.   

In this lesson, high school students examine the demographics of fast food and other low-wage workers, learn more about minimum wage and consider different points of view about increasing it, and explore their own opinions about minimum wage and what low-wage employees need. Time needed for lesson: 45 minutes  

These guidelines provide helpful suggestions for discussing upsetting issues in the news.

Students learn more about Michael Sam's coming out, consider what it means to come out, develop their own opinions about this athlete's decision and write a persuasive essay about it.

Parent and TM contributor Jinnie Spiegler argues that literature should stay at the center of the ELA curriculum.

Students study facts and statistics about NYC's "Stop and Frisk" policy, and consider different points of view on it using interactive activities. 

In this interactive lesson, students consider the issue of internet privacy, both in their own lives and in society, including government spying, parental monitoring, and corporate tracking of consumers. What is the connection and potential conflict between safety and privacy, both on a personal and institutional level?

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.  

In this interactive lesson, students learn more about the high-stakes testing debate, explore different points of view about this issue, consider their own views, and identify actions they can take to address their concerns about high-stakes testing.

Jinnie Spiegler, a parent and education activist, offers suggestions for parents who want to talk with their children about what happened in Newtown.

Students learn about "demographics" and exit polls, examine exit polls from the 2012 election, and create their own school poll. 

Talking with children about current events can be rough terrain but it's important because it provides a way to build compassion and critical thinking and, at the same time, address their most important questions.  

Students discuss the most important issues for them in the presidential election and research these issues as homework. Then they stage a mock debate with teams playing the roles of the candidates, the moderators, fact-checkers, reporters and audience.   

Students discuss the history of voting rights and the current push to restrict voting, including the arguments for and against.

Get your students talking (or writing) about the presidential debate with these questions.

Students learn about what unions and strikes are, then read and discuss different perspectives on the 7-day strike by Chicago Teachers Union strike, which ended on September 19, 2012.

This lesson, which requires two class periods, aims to help students understand why people come out, and the impact coming out can have on both a personal and societal level.  Students will read and discuss the statements by two celebrities who recently came out (Anderson Cooper and Frank Ocean) and consider taking action to support National Coming Out Day on October 11.

'This is a hot topic among parents of the upper elementary set - and it's gotten even hotter since the movie version of Hunger Games came out. For me the decision wasn't hard...'

Students understand the caucus election process by experiencing it firsthand in their classroom - and learn more about 2012 Republican presidential candidates along the way.

Students nominate their own "person of the year"; read and discuss Time magazine's article naming "the protester"; and write new captions for photos of the protesters.

  for grades 4-7  Students explore the meaning of democracy and how Occupy Wall Street is using elements of democracy in their protests. Then students think of and analyze ideas that might make their classroom more democratic.

Students learn about the Occupy Wall Street protest, discuss wealth disparity, consider some statistics, make their own charts, and find out what some of the protesters want and and why.

This two-part lesson for grades 5-8 is aimed at increasing students' understanding of homophobia. The first part focuses on personal experiences of our differences; the second part focuses on what students can do to make their classroom and school safe for everyone.

Senator Barack Obama's March 18, 2008, speech is a teachable moment for issues of race, racism, and race relations in the United States. Here, suggestions for classroom discussion and inquiry based on a reading or viewing of Obama's speech.

Four 45-minute lessons engage students in considering what qualities they might look for in a political candidate; how to get information about candidates; and how they and the adults in their lives decide whom to vote for.

Includes an array of action opportunities for students.