Student Activism

Student unions have successfully taken on issues ranging from student bus passes to assault weapons bans. What are they?

After a series of deadly shootings this summer, lawmakers and 2020 presidential contenders are shining an intense spotlight on the issue of gun control. In this activity, students read about and discuss where President Trump and Democratic presidential candidates stand on the issue, and the role of...

This series of lessons helps students (grades 3-5) learn about why is climate change is happening, why it matters, and what they can do about it.

Students examine three current youth movements to fight climate change by dramatizing each strategy’s benefits and risks.

Young people across the country are taking legal action to defend their right to a stable climate and healthy environment. In this activity students learn about the pioneering lawsuit Juliana v. United States, and discuss a short documentary about youth climate activists. 

Students think about the impact of a letter to the editor, analyze a sampling of letters and identify what makes them effective, and write letters of their own about issues they care about.

Students learn about and discuss strikes by teachers in West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Kentucky, and consider how they are connected to student-led protests over gun violence.

Edna Chavez, a 17-year-old senior from South Los Angeles, made an impassioned speech about gun violence at the student led March for Our Lives in March 2018. In this lesson, students learn some background about South L.A. and consider Chavez's speech, which puts gun violence in a larger societal...

How can activists - including young people who are organizing against gun violence - sustain themselves for the long haul? In this activity, students consider quotes from activists of all ages about their self care strategies. 

Here are five ideas for engaging students in exploring this historic upsurge in student organizing.