Download activities that assess the information around President Trump’s positive test for covid-19. How did the information emerge and who from? What do people think about how Mr Trump handled his own diagnosis? Help learners reach their own verdict. This resource helps your learners to: Discuss recent events with contextual knowledge Identify the consequences of false information Assess different views before forming their own opinion

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

Use these activities to help learners discover the story of Alexei Navalny, a prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin, who was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok. What do we know so far? What are governments saying about the case? Is the Russian government guilty of attempted murder? Use this resource to help your learners: Discover the details behind the headlines Answer questions from several perspectives Assess the story’s importance to different people

Download the first in our new series of resources designed for form/pastoral time. In this resource, learners investigate why Donald Trump seeks to ban the social app TikTok. Part 1: get thoughtful discussions going in as little as 20 minutes and develop key news-literacy skills: speaking, listening, creativity and problem-solving. Part 2: dive deeper. Expand student’s understanding of this topic; structure thinking using evidence and examples, and generate hypotheses based on what has been learnt. The download includes Part 1 and 2, sign up to receive them each week here.

Give students a great revision activity to help them to understand current affairs. This resource covers content from The Economist Educational Foundation’s home learning resources. Haven’t used all of our resources yet? No problem - they can all be downloaded here. There’s ten answers to find, all lurking within the resources we’ve sent out since the start of lockdown in March. Can your learners collect them all? This resource gives clues for where to find answers to questions like: What do you call someone who has been blamed for something that wasn’t their fault? What sport does Colin Kaepernick play? Which “hat” helps you create humour, according to Kal, The Economist’s cartoonist? To spice things up, why not add a time limit or make it a race?

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.

Download Part 2 of our activity pack on whether sport and politics should mix. Through this activity, learners can hear from a range of perspectives on this question and stage their own radio debate! This resource investigates several pressing questions: Should sport and politics mix? What are the arguments on either side of the debate? Why is it important to hear from several perspectives? This resource encourages learners to support their views with evidence but doesn’t need lots of prior knowledge about sport. These activities build on the resources in part one which you can download here.

This resource helps students to explore whether sportsplayers should share political opinions on the field. It is packed with pertinent questions such as: What happens when sport and politics mix? Is it acceptable to express political opinions on the field? Do sportspeople have greater responsibilities than others? This resource encourages learners to support their views with evidence but doesn’t need lots of prior knowledge about sport. This is the first of two resources exploring sport in the news. You can download Part 2 here.

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.

Is the coronavirus affecting men and women differently? This resource encourages learners to study this question from several angles: from death rates, to the impact of lockdown to numbers on the front line. The activities help learners use evidence to draw their own conclusions and to assess the limits of the available data. Weigh up the evidence on questions like: Is COVID-19 worsening gender inequality? Are women better leaders during a crisis? Does we think hard enough about gender during a pandemic? The reflection activity invites learners to write 100 words about why it’s important to think about gender equality during the current crisis.

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?

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

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 child-led learning resource is perfect for use at home independently, with a sibling or with adult input. The activities helps learners to think about what veganism means for society and lets them explore really interesting questions like: • Why do people choose to be vegan? • What factors are important when people make lifestyle choices? • Is a vegan society a better society? It will help learners to practise the critical-thinking skills which are important for understanding and discussing the news: reasoning, open-mindedness and scepticism, as well as the communication skill, speaking-up.

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 student-led learning activity helps young people to investigate the coronavirus pandemic and explores really interesting questions like: How do we know what information to trust? Why do people do things that they know are wrong? Whose views do we need to see the whole picture? Young people can give this a go on their own, but if there’s someone at home to work with, why not have a go together? You could also connect with someone by telephone or video. We’ll practise some critical-thinking skills which are important for understanding and discussing the news: reasoning, open-mindedness, scepticism and speaking-up.

This resource gives students the opportunity to discuss and make judgements on real examples of politicians’ behaviour, leading to ethical questions about justice, democracy, responsibility and power. It complements the National Curriculum for England: KS2-4 Citizenship, including the role and responsibilities of Parliament. 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. 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.

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 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.

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.