Resources for Teaching About Current Events in the Classroom

Use these activities to help students reflect on the themes in Amanda Gorman’s Inauguration Day poem and consider how their unique experiences and voices can help America “forge a union with purpose.”

In this Teaching Idea, students learn about the history of democratic and anti-democratic efforts in the United States and examine sources that illuminate this tension from Reconstruction through today.

This Teaching Idea guides students to use an iceberg diagram to synthesize the events of January 6, 2021, and outline the complex array of causes at work.

This Teaching Idea is designed to help guide an initial classroom reflection on the insurrection at the US Capitol that occurred on January 6, 2021.

This Teaching Idea contains guidance on how to discuss the election with your students and activities to help them process their responses, find accurate information, and consider the impact of the results.

This Teaching Idea examines how bias in policing operates at the individual, community, city, and societal levels, and then invites students to use this framework to begin a discussion about creating solutions to the issue of biased policing.

This Teaching Idea provides a brief overview of the history of policing in the early United States and then examines how laws, and biased enforcement of those laws, were used to control the lives of Black Americans in the South following the Civil War.

This Teaching idea prepares students to engage in conversations about policing, bias, and racism by inviting them to co-create class norms and reflect on the emotions and experiences they and their classmates bring.

This Teaching Idea is designed to help students reflect on how the movies, shows, and books we consume can reinforce stereotypes about Muslims and the harmful impact stereotyping has on people's lives.

This Teaching Idea features Google Slides with activities that prompt students to reflect on the difficult ethical questions we’re all facing during the coronavirus crisis.

This Teaching Idea provides facts about the new coronavirus and allows students to explore instances of discrimination related to COVID-19.

Use this Teaching Idea to inform students about recent episodes of racism and antisemitism in schools across the US, probe their causes and impact, and consider positive ways that communities can respond to hate.

Explore media bias using recent news coverage of controversial events and help students think about what healthy news habits they want to adopt.

Reading “laterally” is a key media literacy strategy that helps students determine the quality of online sources. This Teaching Idea trains students to use this technique to evaluate the credibility of the news they encounter on social media feeds or elsewhere online.

With reparations in the news, this Teaching Idea helps students define the term, learn what forms reparations can take, and consider what reparations should be offered for slavery and other racist policies.

Deepen students’ understanding of the issue of migrant detention by having them consider the diverse perspectives of detained migrants, an immigration lawyer, a border guard, and an immigration judge.

Exploring why people migrate is essential to understanding migration at the US–Mexico border. Use these activities to examine migration from El Salvador to the US and the factors that drive migration.

Explore ideas around access to voting by learning about India’s general election and the country’s commitment to ensuring that all voters are close to a polling station.

Facilitate discussion in your classroom around the recent attacks in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim places of worship, and explore with students how communities respond after incidents of hate.

These activities are designed to help students reflect on the devastating attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Created in partnership with Girl Rising, this teaching idea invites students to engage with the story of a young refugee and to consider the power of storytelling to spark empathy.

Use this teaching idea to introduce students to the story of Governor Northam, examine the history of blackface in the years before the Civil War, and consider how leaders and citizens should respond today.

Help students develop a framework for analyzing and discussing the incidents of racial bias they’re seeing in the news and on social media.

Use this Teaching Idea during the 2020 election season to help students explore the expansion and constriction of voting rights throughout US history.

Use recent photographs to help students connect to the experiences of migrants and to better understand the scale of global migration.

Help students to examine recent events and statistics about the rise of antisemitism in Europe and to consider how we can respond to hate.

Many students considered participating in the national school walkouts to protest gun violence following the Parkland, Florida school shooting. Use this teaching idea to explore the rich history of youth activism from the 1960s to present day. You'll prepare them to think critically as they examine current events through a historical lens and equip them with tools and strategies to engage in difficult conversations.

Use the following lesson and activities with your students to provide context for the 2018 U.S. immigration debate over who can come to the United States, who can stay, and what it means to be American. Recent news and debates may seem especially combative, but they echo earlier moments in US history when Americans questioned who could become a citizen.