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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?

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 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 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.

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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