Current Issues
Classroom activities to engage students in learning about and discussing issues in the news
An 8-lesson activity helps students explore issues of work and workplace conflicts through reading, discussion, interviews, and investigation.
These two recent children's books (grades K-12) present a positive opportunity to open up discussions of the Iraq war with students. Both tell the story of Alia Muhammed Baker, the chief librarian of Basra, Iraq, who saved 30,000 books from Basra's library before it burned during the U.S. invasion...
After discussing the news from New York, students explore how the bill came to be passed - including the strategies and personal experiences that influenced legislators' decisions.
In a jigsaw activity, students learn about three Wikipedia controversies, then decide whether they think Wikipedia is a reliable information source.
One student reading considers opposing views on this question; a second examines the debate over how a U.S. withdrawal would affect women's rights in Afghanistan. Discussion questions follow.
This pdf booklet, produced by the City University of New York's Murphy Institute, includes lots of facts and figures (and cartoons) about issues such as government spending and public sector wages, providing rich material for a HS or college social studies or economics class.
Students write about and discuss an ad that has raised issues about beauty, race, and skin color, and consider the role of advertising in reflecting and shaping attitudes.
Students read and discuss two very different views on the role of government and individuals; work in groups to complete a cut-and-paste activity of those views; and participate in an Opinion Continuum activity to consider and discuss their own views.
In this high school level lesson, students share their reactions to bin Laden's death, read and discuss background information, and then consider a range of responses to the killing. Includes guidelines for discussing this sensitive issue.
Two student readings focus on the reasons for rising gas prices as well as the true social and environmental costs of oil, with discussion questions and an internet inquiry.