An independent charity that leverages the journalistic expertise of The Economist newspaper. We enable inspiring discussions about the news in, and between, schools. Discussions that invite young people to be curious about the world’s biggest ideas and challenges, and consider what should be done about them.
An independent charity that leverages the journalistic expertise of The Economist newspaper. We enable inspiring discussions about the news in, and between, schools. Discussions that invite young people to be curious about the world’s biggest ideas and challenges, and consider what should be done about them.
A hula-hooping girl appears on a wall in Nottingham, England. What happened next?
This week, download a resource that tells the story of Banksy’s latest mysterious mural and gets learners thinking about the questions it raises. Use this resource to help learners:
Identify key information from a piece of text
View a situation from different perspectives
Use evidence to support their own opinion
Study different examples of Banksy’s work
Find out what the law says about graffiti
Consider the impact of Banksy’s murals
This unprecedented COVID-19 crisis has brought debates around freedom of speech into the spotlight. This resource provokes thinking about what people should be allowed to say, and who should make the rules.
These activities challenge learners to think about questions like:
Should people be allowed to say whatever they want?
Is censorship necessary during a pandemic?
What’s more important - freedom to say what you want, or safety from harmful words?
Learners can complete the activities on their own but it’s even better if an adult can push them to develop their reasons and see other perspectives.
The reflection questions can provoke extended discussions. For example, when (if ever) is it acceptable for a leader to withhold information?
Safe and successful covid-19 vaccines have given hope to many, but who will benefit first? And how significant will these breakthroughs be? Help learners get to grips with the numbers behind this development.
These activities help your students:
Explore questions of fairness and responsibility about the vaccines
Analyse evidence to identify opportunities and problems
Consider their position in light of new scenarios
The race between infection and injection is on. Several vaccines have been developed but how should they be distributed?
Uncover the situation so far in the global quest to vaccinate populations against the covid-19, then delve deeper into questions about how vaccines should be distributed fairly.
In October 2020 the World Economic Forum released its most recent research into 300 of the world’s biggest companies. It showed that over 50% expect to speed up their plans for automation because of covid-19. With more robots in the workplace, who will be the winners and losers? Download these resources, supported by the Bank of England, to find out!
Use these activities to help answer this question and others about automation:
Why are business owners turning to robots?
What are the reasons why they shouldn’t?
What role might Artificial Intelligence play in the future of work?
What kinds of jobs might be better suited to robots?
How might automation affect your career plans?
How would perspectives differ?
During the first UK lockdown, many families reverted back to the traditional set-up of mothers doing more childcare. Experts say we are at a “coronavirus crossroads”: without more support for working mothers, the gender pay gap could widen. So what should be done?
These activities help your learners:
Analyse statistics about pay discrimination
Consider the impact of a culture of secrecy around salaries
Suggest solutions to help close the gender pay gap
Learn about the law on equal pay
Understand the impact of the coronavirus on the gender pay gap
See this issue from different perspectives
Joe Biden won the US election, but Donald Trump refuses to concede. What’s going on? Help learners to explore the results and the questions they raise.
**In part one: **
How do American presidential elections work?
What made this election different from all others?
How have the candidates reacted?
**In part two: **
What might be the consequences of Trump’s actions?
Why was the election record-breaking?
What’s been the reaction to the result?
New president, new start.
Truth, trust and togetherness. Moments after taking his oath of office, President Biden gave his blueprint for overcoming the challenges facing America.
This resources explores the transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden.
What’s Joe Biden done in his first two weeks as president? And what next for Donald Trump? T
These activities help your learners:
Discover what was said on inauguration day
Express what this story means to them
View the events from different perspectives
This is the first of two
This workshop challenges students to think about plastics, packaging and sustainability. They’ll explore interesting questions like:
• What impact do plastics and packaging have on the
environment?
• Are all plastics bad?
• Whose responsibility is it to make a change?
Throughout, students will build essential Skills Builder skills: creativity, problem-solving, listening and speaking.
The whole workshop is student-led, so perfect for independent learning or home education.
General election: What matters most?
Length: 60 minutes
This resource challenges students to think about how best to make decisions when faced with a general election. It encourages them to make the most of what they already know and recall events in the recent news to support their opinions. However, in-depth knowledge of politicians, parties and policies is not a prerequisite. It can be used at any point in the run-up to this year’s general election on December 12th 2019.
This resource helps to develop the following skills:
REASONING: Justifying a viewpoint
SPEAKING UP: Confidently communicating a viewpoint
OPEN-MINDEDNESS: Listening to other viewpoints
These resources were produced by The Economist Educational Foundation, an independent charity that was set up by The Economist magazine. Combining The Economist’s journalistic know-how with teaching expertise, we specialise in supporting teachers to facilitate high-quality classroom discussions about the news.
Cover image: dominika zarzycka / Shutterstock.com
This resource helps students think more deeply about the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games.
What challenges do the organisers face? What considerations need to be taken into account? And should the games go ahead?
Straight-forward activities get students discussing the big questions and practising the Skills Builder skills: creativity, problem-solving, speaking and listening.
A lot of the power to protect the planet lies within people’s lifestyle choices. Do we need tougher climate laws?
Ahead of Earth Day on April 22nd, help students understand the urgency of the “climate crisis” and debate whether laws should be adjusted.
This lesson gives you everything you need to facilitate a discussion with 9-16 year olds. Student develop essential skills, media literacy, knowledge about the news and every lesson relates to SDGs.
Get weekly free lessons on the news from The Economist Foundation via their Topical Talk website:
https://bit.ly/TT_Library
This is a mini scheme of work for KS2 and KS3 students about the 2017 General Election. Over the three sessions, your students will learn what a general election is, who the main political parties are and decide who they would vote for.
Content is accurate as of May 3rd 2017. Please check back over the course of the election as we will update the resources as the political parties release their manifestos.
See more of what we do at www.burnetnewsclub.com
This unit of work covers understanding and analysis of this important and topical issue. Students are asked to evaluate the facts and give their opinion through a range of activities.
This resource is an issue that students cover in the Burnet News Club (www.burnetnewsclub.com)
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INTRODUCTION TO THE ISSUE
The UK is considering a new draft Investigatory Powers Bill.
This is a really important law, because it would affect your rights. Your rights are the things that you are entitled to do or to have. This issue asks students to discuss and evaluate the implications of the Bill on our rights. It offers a great opportunity to explore British values as required in UK schools.
This scheme of work includes everything you need to run six one-hour sessions for key stage 2 or 3 students on the financial system ten years on since the crisis.
It was produced by The Economist Educational Foundation, an independent charity set up by The Economist magazine. We combine The Economist’s journalistic know-how with teaching expertise, and we specialise in supporting teachers to facilitate high-quality classroom discussions about the news.
As a teacher, do I need to know anything about this topic?
Not at all. All the necessary information is provided!
What are the objectives?
To build students’ knowledge, skills and confidence.
STUDENTS WILL…
Learn about the financial system, how it affects them, and how people’s decisions determine whether it works well or goes wrong.
Build essential critical thinking and communication skills: reasoning, scepticism, curiosity, open-mindedness and storytelling. All the Foundation’s resources are designed to build these skills, as we believe they are essential for the modern world.
Develop the confidence to have their say. The six sessions will enable students to make well-informed, sound arguments for their opinions on this important and complex issue.
WHAT’S INCLUDED?
Multimedia news content
Detailed session guides for leading fun, interactive activities – no planning required
This scheme of work is supported by the Bank of England. The Economist Educational Foundation maintained full editorial control. The Bank contributed a video resource which explains what banks do, what the Bank of England does, what happened in the financial crisis and what is being done to make banks safer. We would like to thank the Bank for adding this resource and for helping to support our work.
There has been a worrying increase in knife crime with young people being directly affected. Across two 20 minute activities, students will look at some statistics surrounding the issue and explore suggested reasons and solutions.
THESE RESOURCES:
– Look at the rise of knife crime in the context of general crime
– Explore statistics from 2018
– Considers the reasons behind the rise
– Structures research into possible solutions
Everything is provided to run two short activities for students aged 11 to 16.
This unit of work covers understanding and analysis of this important and topical issue. Students are asked to evaluate the facts and give their opinion through a range of activities.
This resource is an issue that students cover in the Burnet News Club (www.burnetnewsclub.com)
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INTRODUCTION TO THE ISSUE
Everyone needs to live in a home. Your parents may rent their home, which means they pay some money each month to their landlord, or perhaps they bought their home.
In Britain, both renting and buying homes has become very expensive in recent years. In fact, Britain is one of the world’s most expensive places to live.To buy a home people have to take out a very big loan from a bank. The average adult in Britain earns about £25,000 a year but the average home costs about £300,000.
Why is it a problem that it is expensive to buy a home in the UK? One reason is that if people are struggling to find a suitable home, this can have lots of negative effects on the communities we live in. For example, it can lead to homelessness, inequality and conflict.
This resource introduces students to the news and gets them answering key questions about where the news can be found and how the importance of a news story will differ from person to person. It could be used as part of PSHE, before looking at a particular story, to give students a better understanding of a news-report task.
This lesson helps to develop the following news literacy skills:
SCEPTICISM: Questioning information to find the truth
REASONING: Justifying a viewpoint
This resource was produced by The Economist Educational Foundation, an independent charity that was set up by The Economist magazine. Combining The Economist’s journalistic know-how with teaching expertise, we specialise in supporting teachers to facilitate high-quality classroom discussions about the news.
For nearly three years now, Brexit and the EU has dominated the news in Europe and beyond. One persistent debate asks whether a second referendum is the best way forward. This workshop explores the arguments on either side of the debate and asks students to form their own opinions.
The resources will develop understanding and analysis of this important and topical issue. Students are asked to evaluate the arguments and give their opinion through a range of activities.
THIS WORKSHOP:
– Familiarises students with important keywords
– Covers the timeline of Brexit up to February 2019
– Unpicks the arguments for and against a second referendum
– Structures a group discussion
Everything is provided, from session guides to resource activities, to run a 75 minute workshop for students aged 11 to 15.
Strict lockdowns have caused pollution levels in many countries to plummet. Yet, as activity returns to normal, so will emissions. Many see the pandemic as a huge opportunity to press the reset button and build back better. But how? Get students talking about the balancing act of boosting the economy whilst protecting the environment.
Use this resource to help your learners:
Develop the skill of forming and supporting their opinion and use data to strengthen their reasoning
Improve their thinking by connecting one issue to another
Practise viewing a topic from different perspectives
Research the ways that disasters have led to positive change