Democracy and Current Events
This toolkit provides lessons and strategies for helping your students make sense of issues in the news related to democracy.
![Young women voting at the polls.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-01/iStock-1001754940.jpg?h=119335f7&itok=XzukiFzx)
Discussing Contemporary Islamophobia in the Classroom
This unit is designed to help students in the UK reflect on how Islamophobia manifests in contemporary society and what needs to be done to challenge it.
![Students participating in a discussion.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/High_School_Students_Classroom_2015_FH137533.jpg?h=1116cd87&itok=W0ZFmcjY)
Developing Media Literacy for Well-being, Relationships and Democracy
Teach students about media literacy, helping them develop as critical consumers and creators of information, in order to support their well-being, their relationships and our democracy.
![A teacher helps students during class.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-08/2020_DSC04333_FH2122257_teaser.jpeg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=QfWGU4nH)
The Pursuit of Educational Justice in Boston
This 7–9 day C3-aligned inquiry explores the compelling question, “What can we learn from Boston’s past about what it takes to make progress toward educational justice today?”
![Motorcycle police escort school buses as they leave South Boston High School](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2024-02/AP578859834926.jpg?h=81d02d30&itok=pvLW0Jse)
Confronting Apartheid
Examine how South Africans grappled with their history, from early interactions with white European settlers, resistance to the imposed apartheid regime, and a long struggle for democracy.
![Group of people waving South African flags in back lit.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/Democracy_2018_SouthAfricaConfrontingApartheidBannerunedited_FH282249.jpg?h=40d6a7d7&itok=gii2H08Z)
Teaching Resources for the US Elections
Use these resources on voting, media literacy, polarization, and bias to talk about US elections with your high school and middle school students.
![Abstract red, white, and blue painting with thick brush strokes.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/PoliticalPolarization_full-res.jpg?h=5eef411c&itok=dyNgzenB)
#IfTheyGunnedMeDown
Students explore the potential negative impact of images through the social media protest #IfTheyGunnedMeDown and develop a decision-making process for choosing imagery to represent controversial events.
![National President of Black Lawyers for Justice, carries a picture of Michael Brown as he leads demonstrators on a march.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2014_CurfewSetAfterViolentProtestsFlareAmidOverMichaelBrownShooting_FH2173438.jpg?h=24afd704&itok=E8IzzWCR)
The Impact of Identity
Students explore how identity impacts our responses to other people and events by examining a cartoon and analyzing an opinion poll from a week after Ferguson.
![Students learning in class.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2019_SL_190522_0613_FH2101388.jpg?h=0f4230fa&itok=_mOwH2tA)
The Power of Images
Students examine how identity and biases can impact how individuals interpret images and experience the challenge of selecting images to represent news events, particularly connected to sensitive issues.
![People hold hands in prayer in the parking lot of convenience store that was looted and burned after Michael Brown was shot by police in Ferguson, Mo.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2014_LivinginFerguson_FH230964.jpg?h=8b6300e7&itok=E_y1giir)
Preparing Students for Difficult Conversations
Students establish a safe space for holding sensitive conversations, before introducing the events surrounding Ferguson, by acknowledging people's complicated feelings about race and creating a classroom contract.
![Students learning in class.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2019_SL_190522_0595_FH2101381.jpg?h=0f4230fa&itok=pAqFB2Uf)
Social Media and Ferguson
Students explore the role of social media in Ferguson, apply information verification strategies to social media posts, and develop strategies for becoming critical consumers and sharers of social media.
![Peaceful demonstrators gather in Ferguson, Missouri, in the aftermath of Michael Brown’s death.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/2016_PeacefulProtestinFerguson_FH224149.jpg?h=c4842d71&itok=6lE2ICT0)