Current Issues
Classroom activities to engage students in learning about and discussing issues in the news
TeachableMoment
September 17, 2018
To the Teacher:
Since taking office, President Donald Trump and his associates have been the subject of a Department of Justice investigation that has touched on the violation of campaign finance…
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September 15, 2018
From August 21 to September 9, 2018, prisoners in at least thirty prisons across 16 states engaged in strike actions. The actions ranged from hunger strikes to labor strikes and were initiated in…
TeachableMoment
September 5, 2018
Introduction
How should educators acknowledge the anniversary of September 11th and educate students about the events of that day and their impact?
Those of us who lived through September 11, 2001…
TeachableMoment
August 29, 2018
To the Teacher:
This activity uses a circle format. Students and adults are seated in a circle and pass a “talking piece” around the circle to share their thoughts and reflections (or pass if they…
TeachableMoment
August 25, 2018
Introduction
Ask students: What news happened over the summer of 2018?
Record students’ responses on the board.
If students are having trouble coming up with a list, help them with questions…
TeachableMoment
August 21, 2018
Photo: Teachers and their allies picket outside the Milwaukee Public School headquarters in April 2018, demanding better school funding. Photo by Charles Edward Miller.
To the Teacher
Over the…
TeachableMoment
August 13, 2018
Opening
Ask students to discuss this prompt in pairs: Do you know anyone who has immigrated to this country? Perhaps ancestors, relatives, or friends? Why did they immigrate? Where did they…
TeachableMoment
July 24, 2018
To the Teacher:
The United States is suffering from a crisis of affordable housing. An estimated 11 million American households spend more than half their income just to keep a roof over their heads…
TeachableMoment
July 12, 2018
To the Teacher
On June 27, 2018, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement from the nation’s highest court. Less than two weeks later, President Trump put forward his nomination…
TeachableMoment
July 2, 2018
To the Teacher:
On June 30, 2018, hundreds of protesters, mostly women, occupied a Senate office building in Washington, D.C., and 600 were arrested. Some 700 other protests took place in…