This resource helps learners think for themselves about the power of headlines and the ways newspapers present their stories. These activities provoke thinking on questions like: How should newspapers choose their stories? What responsibilities do they have to their audience? How should the media report on a crisis? After making editorial decisions, learners are encouraged to investigate the current news cycle and view it from different perspectives. Challenge your children to think deeper about the stories they see everyday and develop their news literacy and communication skills: reasoning, open-mindedness, scepticism and speaking up.

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 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 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.

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.

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.

Photographs can shape our reactions to current affairs. How do we know when to trust them? These fun activities help learners explore the role of photographs in the news and challenges them to step behind the lens themselves. When should we believe our eyes? Get learners discussing this and a range of other questions: How do photographs help us understand the news? How should newspapers choose their photographs? Do photographs give us the whole picture? Learners are also tasked with finding ways to photograph the same thing in different ways. Can they create two contrasting impressions of the same subject?

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.

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

It’s been 100 years since some women got the vote in the UK. This year, hundreds of famous entertainers have launched a campaign against the harassment of women. The campaign, called ‘Time’s Up’, is a reminder that women are still sometimes mistreated simply because they are female. This 6-session scheme of work explores barriers that women face both in and out of the workplace and asks questions which encourage all genders to consider how they and society are affected by this issue. There is also an additional optional session covering sexual harassment. Use these fully-planned, interactive and multi-media resources to develop your student’s critical thinking and literacy skills and to embed cognitively challenging conversations in your classrooms. If you’d like to find out more, visit burnetnewsclub[dot]com

This resource is in support of an issue that students cover in the Burnet News Club (www.burnetnewsclub.com) ----------- Students are introduced to some of the complexities of the housing crisis through a fun activity. A balloon-debate style group activity that ask students to decide who should live in an apartment block. It encourages evaluation, communication and negotiation.

SPECIAL WRITING RESOURCE - Speak up by getting creative! Help your students to get writing about the news and, if they like, enter the Orwell Youth Prize 2021. There are lots of ways to start a conversation about the news. Banksy makes art. Stormzy pens songs. Darshan Singh Bhuller choreographs dance performances. What can your learners do? This resource, supported by The Orwell Foundation, explores George Orwell’s writing process to inspire learners to put their own ideas on paper. The whole resource ca be used independently by students.

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.

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.

This resource introduces students to the climate emergency and gets them discussing a range of big questions. It’s suitable for students aged 10 and over. This lesson helps to develop the following news literacy skills: SPEAKING UP: Confidently communicating a viewpoint OPEN-MINDEDNESS: Listening to other viewpoints 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.