Published in response to recent events, these resources helps learners to explore questions like: What is prejudice? What does discrimination look like? Whose responsibility is it to end racism? Is racism always obvious? Is treating people equally always fair? Is racism getting worse? This resource includes Advice on managing sensitive conversations with young people. Links to further anti-racism resources for both children and adults. A special piece for older students with thinking questions.

Teachers around the world have expressed concern over a new wave of online misogyny linked to British-American influencer Andrew Tate. What is online misogyny? And what should be done about it? Start the discussion in your classroom and help students explore different opinions people have about misogyny online. Use this one-hour lesson to help your students: Identify the theme of misogyny in news stories Compare different perspectives Discuss solutions to online misogyny

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) ----------- 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.

Numeracy in the news: behind the headlines Designed to be used at home by a child working alone or with an adult or siblings. These activities help learners make sense of the numbers in the news and empower them to make their own judgments based on evidence.  Through a combination of numeracy skills and discussion questions, learners are able to see behind the headlines and better-understand the media they consume. Engaging scenarios help them to: Investigate how numbers can be presented to support a viewpoint Interrogate the accuracy of claims in the headlines Adjust their thinking in light of new findings Analyse numerical evidence to help solve a social issue A classroom version of this resource is also available to download here.

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

Extreme weather is one of the biggest threats facing our world. To minimise the impact, communities, economies and health care systems need to respond and adapt. But how? This six-lesson scheme of work explores the answer to this question and many more. These activities encourage learners to: Investigate how extreme weather affects different communities Consider links to climate change Evaluate different responses that the world can make Reflect on the responsibilities countries have to each other There are opportunities to make connections with the COVID-19 pandemic and draw parallels between different crises. This scheme of work is student-led, which means it is perfect for use at home independently, with a sibling or with parental input.

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) ----------- INTRODUCTION TO THE ISSUE In August the 2016 Olympics will be held in Rio de Janeiro, a large city in Brazil. The Olympic Games are the biggest, broadest sporting event in the world. Every four years, hundreds of countries send a team of athletes to compete in sports ranging from running and jumping to swimming and basketball. This issue looks at how a big sporting event like the Rio Olympics can affect society, and helps students find out whether they think sport is good or bad for society.

CHECK OUT OUR MORE RECENT BREXIT RESOURCE HERE: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/brexit-and-democracy-debate-should-the-uk-have-a-second-referendum-12068930 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 issue asks students to create poems to reflect their opinions. This resource is an issue that students cover in the Burnet News Club (www.burnetnewsclub.com) ----------- INTRODUCTION TO THE ISSUE The European Union (the EU for short) is a club with 28 member countries from Europe. Its purpose is mainly to make it easier for member countries to trade (buy and sell things) with each other. There are laws and rules that member countries have to follow. On June 23rd Britain will hold a referendum in which voters will choose whether to stay in or to leave the EU. The outcome will have a big effect on our economy, on politics and on Europe.

CHECK OUT OUR MORE RECENT DEMOCRACY AND BREXIT RESOURCE HERE: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/brexit-and-democracy-debate-should-the-uk-have-a-second-referendum-12068930 Everyone is talking about 'fake news’ at the moment, after it became such a big thing during the American election. People accuse it of changing the election results and of deceiving the public. This 6-session scheme of work explores fake news, and teaches students how to spot fake news and challenge what they hear in the media. These fully-planned, interactive and multi-media resources help to develop your students’ critical thinking and literacy skills and to embed cognitively challenging conversations in your classrooms.

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.

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.

The Economist’s cartoonist, Kal, guides you through his creative process explaining how he takes on the role of journalist, satirist, commentator and artist before challenging young people at home to get drawing. These activities encourage learners to: Explore the aims of cartoons Understand the different audiences of political cartoons Discover the importance of “four hats” to the design process Plan and draw their own political cartoons Cartoons are also a great discussion starter, generating questions about purpose, meaning and interpretation - perfect to use alongside a written text. A classroom version of this resource is also available to download.

This resource looks at the purpose of political cartoons and how an expert produces them. It will take 60 minutes to run and is aimed at 10- to 15-year-olds. We suggest running it with 12 to 30 students. Teachers are encouraged to adapt it as necessary for their students’ needs. – This lesson helps to develop the following news literacy skills: SPEAKING UP: Confidently communicating a viewpoint SCEPTICISM: Questioning information to find the truth – This resource was produced by The Economist Educational Foundation, an independent charity that was 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.

Help learners separate fact from fiction by understanding how conspiracy theories start and spread. This resource gets learners thinking about questions such as: What is a conspiracy theory? How do conspiracy theories spread? Who is responsible for stopping their spread? The activities look at fake stories about the coronavirus and investigate the dangers of letting conspiracy theories go unchallenged. Learners can also explore deeper questions about free speech, censorship and the role of social media.

These activities challenge learners to think about where they get their news from and to question what they are reading. It’s pakced full of questions like: What are the best and worst ways to get news? When can we trust what we read in the news? Why might news matter more to some people than others? What makes a story hit the headlines? We suggest supporting your child to complete the activities. We have developed this resource from a previous classroom version, available here:economistfoundation.org/resources

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

Coronavirus and wellbeing. Help children reflect on their wellbeing in the current climate and consider how they could help themselves and others. This resource encourages learners to think about how others are coping during the pandemic and the factors that can affect this. Get learners to explore questions like: What kind of things help your wellbeing? How has the coronavirus impacted your mental health? How could you help someone else stay positive during this time? Learners can also find links to further support on mental health.

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?

A 75 minute workshop exploring Roger Fenton, one of the earliest war photographers. Students will build a picture of Britain during the Crimean War; consider the impact of photography on the British public; and debate whether Fenton offered one of the earliest examples of fake news. This workshop: – Covers the context behind the Crimean War – Uncovers the impact of war photography on the British public – Evaluates several of Fenton’s photographs – Supports students to interrogate if war photography always tells the truth Everything is provided, from session guides to resource activities, to run the 75 minute workshop for students aged 11-15.

A POSITIVE HUMAN FUTURE: Designing the sustainable city of tomorrow Length: 4x sessions, 4 hours total, but you can pick out activities that interest you the most! Age: 9+. Older students should spend more time on sessions 2 and 3 Group size: This workshop would work best for 10-25 students This workshop was sponsored by PA Consulting, an innovation and transformation consultancy. The workshop is designed to support PA’s Raspberry Pi competition 2020, an annual contest which challenges school and college students nationwide to put their innovation and programming skills to the test. It can be used by schools taking part in the competition as a way to generate ideas for competition entries. However, this resource can also be used by schools that are not taking part in the competition. We hope lots of schools will enjoy using it to facilitate inspiring discussions in their classrooms about the future of cities! It’s a great subject to stimulate creative thinking and debate about real world issues, from social mobility to healthcare. In this workshop, students will: Build knowledge around the history of cities Explore and debate the opportunities and challenges of modern city living Unpick the data informing us about cities Research and evaluate case studies of technological innovation in cities Generate ideas of their own for future cities This resource helps to develop the following skills: SCEPTICISM: Questioning information to find the truth 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.