Current Issues
Classroom activities to engage students in learning about and discussing issues in the news
In this brief activity, students take a quick quiz on voter access, then discuss the debate over this issue, including Hillary Clinton's recent proposal to make voter registration automatic.
In this brief activity, students learn about recent controversies surrounding the Confederate flag, discuss opposing views of the flag, and consider the range of opinion among different groups about the flag.
An investigative report by the New York Times uncovered the deplorable and frequently illegal conditions faced by employees at nail salons. This lesson has students consider different points of view on the subject, and how they, and consumers in general, should respond.
Through a quiz and brief discussion, students consider Tsarnaev's death sentence and growing opposition to capital punishment.
Chicago decided on May 6, 2015, to provide reparations for its history of brutal police abuse, after decades of organizing by activists. This brief classroom activity uses two quotes to help students consider the news and its implications.
Through quotes, photos, and video, students explore responses to Freddie Gray's death while in Baltimore police custody, and the protests that followed.
Students dip into the 2016 presidential race with a brief look at the two latest contenders to announce: Senators Marco Rubio and Bernie Sanders.
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...
This short (15-minute) classroom activity uses a 2-minute video and discussion to explore the growing controversy over the Trans-Pacific Partnership 12-nation trade agreement.
In two readings and discussion, students think critically about the connection between cars and climate change, and compare U.S. transportation systems with those of Europe, where people rely less on cars.