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How can McDonald’s “Big Mac” hamburger help economists? Discuss the Big Mac Index – a global gauge of currency value through the world’s most iconic burger. About this lesson The Big Mac index was invented by The Economist in 1986 as a guide to whether currencies are at their “correct” level. Every year the index compares the price of a McDonald’s “Big Mac” hamburger in different countries around the world. Use this lesson to help students: Understand what the Big Mac Index is Consider why the Big Mac was chosen Debate whether there is a better item for a global index. Looking for more Topical Talk lessons? Explore our free resources.

As countries race toward net-zero, our Earth Day lesson gets students talking about renewable energy, its global impact and which green solutions work best where. About this lesson Many countries have one target in common: achieving net-zero. To reach the state where the amount of greenhouse gases released into the Earth’s atmosphere are equal to the amount removed, significant changes are taking place. Renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydro and geothermal power are being used globally to reduce dependence on non-renewable resources like oil and gas. **Use this lesson to help students: ** Understand the importance of renewable energy Discuss the different types of renewable energy Debate which renewable energy source is best for a particular context Looking for more Topical Talk lessons? Explore our full library of resources:

Should controversial figures like Andrew Tate and Conor McGregor be given a platform? About this lesson President Trump’s recent support for controversial MMA fighter Conor McGregor and Spotify’s removal of influencer Andrew Tate’s podcast have sparked debate on permitting public misogyny. The conversation on misogyny, extremist influencers and the “manosphere” has been further fuelled by the hit Netflix show Adolescence. Should people be allowed to share whatever opinions they want? And is it ever right to restrict how they do so? Use this lesson to help students: Consider the impact of people sharing their opinions publicly Explore recent news examples featuring Andrew Tate and Conor McGregor Debate whether influencers with misogynistic views should have a public platform Discover more Topical Talk lessons here.

In this one-hour lesson, hear from those impacted by the Russia-Ukraine war and help students think critically about the role of journalism in war reporting. Our lessons are produced by experienced teachers, with support from The Economist’s senior editors and fact-checkers. That means you can trust our resources to give an accurate and balanced picture for your students to unpick. Explore more Topical Talk lessons here.

Ahead of Earth Day, help students learn about the impact of wildfires around the world and think critically about sustainable solutions. Why are places like Los Angeles, Portugal and Brazil more vulnerable than others? And how should global governments react to news of fires? Use this one-hour lesson to help students: Learn about the impact of wildfires around the world Discuss how at-risk countries are trying to prevent fires Debate whether governments should spend more money on the prevention or management of wildfires Discover more Earth Day lessons from The Economist Educational Foundation.

What’s more important: AI’s potential for progress? Or protecting the planet? While AI is helping people find solutions to climate change, it’s also contributing to the problem. By 2030, the amount of CO2 produced by AI data centres will equate to roughly 40% of the annual emissions of the United States. Use this one-hour lesson to help your students: Learn about AI and its uses Discuss the progress of AI and its impact on sustainability Think critically to decide where AI should be used around the world

How should budgets be spent? And how similar are considerations for personal and government budgets? Use this one-hour Headline lesson to help your students: Explore the challenges of state budgeting Discuss considerations for personal budgeting Decide how to spend a government budget Looking for more news-based resources? Check out our resource library!

How might artificial intelligence affect the UK general election? Debate what should be allowed during election campaigns and consider solutions to address the problems caused by generative AI. Use this one-hour lesson to help your students: Consider the impact of generative AI during elections Decide whether AI should be allowed during election campaigns Identify and analyse solutions for the problems that generative AI might cause Looking for more resources on elections and democracy? Explore our full collection of free resources.

In this lesson students will build their knowledge of news literacy, misinformation and disinformation. They’ll work through examples in groups to spot the difference between mis- and disinformation, before deciding what “news-literacy actions” they could take to avoid being misled in future. This resource was created as part of an online teacher-training course: how to teach the news. See full course: bit.ly/TT-springboard

Six lessons to unpick numbers in the news. Created with support from data experts at The Economist, the 6-hour unit of work helps 10-16 year-olds explore examples in the news, hear from data journalists and interrogate the reliability of data across four lively lessons before reflecting on their learning. Students are encouraged to form their own conclusions and the final two lessons support learners to plan, create and share what they have to say about data decisions, presented in either audio, video or written format.

Is AI-generated art better than human creations? And is AI good or bad for the arts? Use this one-hour lesson to help your students: Understand how AI creates art Explore how different arts are linked by the theme of AI Discuss whether AI is good or bad for the arts

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

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 year, the theme of International Women’s Day was “choose to challenge” encouraging people to speak out and challenge gender inequality. This resource helps your learners explore why we still having to fight for women’s equality in 2021.

Download a full scheme of work to explore numbers in the news and how the media can shape a story. The covid-19 pandemic has kept people glued to the news, but is there such a thing as too much information? Has the pandemic led to an infodemic? Throughout the six hour-long lessons, students will use oracy to develop their numeracy skills, with a particular focus on the Skills Builder skills: creativity, problem-solving, speaking and listening.

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.

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.

Will new technology make fake news even harder to spot? Perfect for home learning: this resource contains an introduction video and a chance to vote online and share opinions. These activities help your learners: Explain why the 2020 alternative Christmas message caused controversy Assess the scale of the problem posed by deepfake technology View the issue from different perspectives Assess the benefits and risks of deepfakes Draw conclusions on who should have access to deepfake technology

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

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?