Topical Tuesdays: A difficult discussion - UKS2 News Story and Reading and Writing Activity Sheet from The Week Junior

Tens of thousands of people took part in marches across the US on 11 June 2022 to call for the law on guns to change. The protests followed two recent tragedies in Texas and New York, which have pushed lawmakers to discuss changes to US gun laws. This resources pack includes an article from The Week Junior magazine, along with a sheet of activities designed to get children thinking, talking and writing about what the story means to them.

Oracy

Some people in the United States say that guns are not the problem – it’s only the people who use them who are dangerous. Don’t people in America need guns to keep their families safe? Or is it safer to keep gun ownership to a minimum? Are guns more dangerous than, say, hammers, because they have no purpose but to hurt and kill? What do you think?

Writing skills

Sadly, many of America’s gun tragedies happen when someone starts shooting in a public place, such as a shopping centre. In fact, it happens far too often. Just for fun, write an imagined news report from an American supermarket on a day where there wasn’t a shooting. Your challenge is to make an ordinary day’s shopping sound as breathlessly dramatic as if there had been a major news incident.

Or

Imagine you have a pen pal in America. Write a letter asking them what life is like for children in the United States. Ask them about aspects of daily life that you think are different, explaining how we do those things here.

Investigate

Research the Constitution of the United States of America. Write a fact file about it, including when it was written, why it was written, who wrote it and whether it can be changed.

Find the entire series of Topical Tuesday resources to download in our Topical Tuesdays collection.

What is The Week Junior?

The Week Junior magazine looks at current affairs and helps children make sense of the world, provides context and clarity to complex issues, improves general knowledge and encourages discussion and debate.

To find out more about The Week Junior and to download its free resources, please go to The Week Junior website.

This resource is part of the News Activities Archive collection.
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• News story
• Activities sheet