Jonah Elkowitz , kovop, Jaroslav Moravcik / Shutterstock.com
December 13th 2024
60-90 minute lesson
2024 news review
In this lesson students will look back over
the year and share their final opinions
about what local and global news stories
were most important for them. The topics
that students will discuss include: global
conflicts, the Olympic games, the United
States election and anti-tourism.
Politics and democracy
Lesson objectives
Topical Talk skill
Listening
Step 1: I listen to others and can
remember short instructions
Step 3: I listen to others and can tell
someone else what it was about
Step 11: I listen critically and compare
different perspectives
For more information on the skills:
bit.ly/TTFrameworks
Knowledge
I know four of the most important news
stories of 2024 and can explain what they
are about.
Sustainable Development Goals
Want more resources?
Take a look at the Topical Talk
resource library. All resources are free
and it takes seconds to sign up.
talk.economistfoundation.org/resources
1
Students are
recognised for their
achievements
The world’s biggest news
festival for young people.
JANUARY MARCH 20
25
Classes join
live lessons
Delve into the big issues
with our live lessons,
alongside hundreds of
children from around
the world.
Teachers run
topical lessons
Students join global
discussions
Use our fully-prepared
lessons to have informed
debates and discussions
with your students. From
climate change to AI, you’ll
cover the most pressing
issues of 2025.
After the discussions in the
classroom students log on
to the Festival Student Hub
to share their ideas and
opinions about the news
with students from all over
the world.
All lessons are created by
teachers in collaboration
with journalists from
The Economist newspaper.
They are designed to
develop students’ news
literacy and build essential
communication and
critical-thinking skills.
The Student Hub is a safe,
moderated space where
feedback is given.
We get to see students’ points
of view from everywhere else
in the world and what’s going
on in their country and how it
affects them.
– Student, UK
Students win stars for
expressing their opinions
and demonstrating the
Topical Talk skills on
the Festival Student
Hub. There are weekly
competitions and polls,
suitable for all.
Students receive feedback
from professionals at top
companies and hear from
leading experts.
Festival awards
The lessons are designed to
suit a lot of different learners.
The resources were easily
accessible and with little to
no preparation on my part.
– Teacher, Ireland
Students take part
in the Standpoint
competition
Students win stars for
expressing their opinions
and demonstrating the
Topical Talk skills on
the Festival Student
Hub. There are weekly
competitions and polls,
suitable for all.
There are numerous
awards and prizes to
be won throughout the
Festival. One class is
awarded the prestigious
Alastair Burnet Award.
The winning class receives
£1,000 to build on
students’ achievements
from the Festival.
How to take part
The Festival is suitable for
students aged 10-16 with B2-level
English or above. Registration
is available to schools which
work with a high proportion
of underserved students. If
you are unsure whether your
school is eligible, please email
foundationteam@economist.com
Scan the QR code
for more information
and registration
form. Or go to talk.
economistfoundation.
org/festivals
Teacher instructions
Before this lesson
Activity two
• Print the Teacher instructions, or have
them to hand
• Have the PowerPoint ready to share
on screen
• Print the Posters
• Have Post-it notes to hand
Slide 4
Split the class into four teams and give each a Poster. Give teams time to complete the
activity on the slide. Check that each group understands their news story and write
any new keywords on the board.
Missing something? Head to the Topical Talk resource library and
search for this lesson to download everything you need.
talk.economistfoundation.org/resources
Activity one
Slide 1
Introduce the lesson and remind
students of the Topical Talk skills.
When you see the skills icons
throughout the PowerPoint, ask
students to reflect on how they are
practising that skill.
Slide 2
For this activity students should work
in pairs. Give each pair three Postit notes and time to complete the
activity on the slide. Draw three circles
on the board that correspond with the
questions so students can stick their
Post-it note into each circle. Share
some examples. Students should try to
agree on the most important story in
the local category.
Slide 3
Give time for pairs to discuss the
questions and feed back to the class.
If students need support, suggest ideas
– for example, the number of people
affected or type of event.
Slide 5
Teams should take turns to present their news reports. After each one, ask the
questions on the slide for anyone to answer.
Ask students to choose which news story they think is the odd one out by pointing to
the Poster they think is the answer. Give time for students with different answers to
share their reasons.
Challenge: what other Topical Talk Headlines have you discussed in class?
Give students time to summarise their learning from their favourite Headlines
lesson/s in 2024.
Activity three
Slides 6 to 9
For this activity students should work with a new partner. Display the Posters on the
board. Give each pair four Post-it notes and ask them to number them 1 to 4 to match
the Posters. Give time for pairs to complete the activity on each slide – for each,
choose one pair to feed back to the class and give time for others to agree or disagree
and explain their answer.
Challenge: put the Posters in a random order. Students should think of what this
order might show.
Activity four
Slides 10 to 11
Complete the activity and discuss the questions as a class.
Slide 12
Give time for students to reflect on how they developed their skills and knowledge
during this lesson. Praise detailed reflections and metacognition.
We'd love to see your Topical Talkers
in action! Share your photos with
@econ_foundation and use #TopicalTalk
for the chance to feature on our social
media channels.
Poster
The American
election
On Wednesday November 6th, Republican
candidate Donald Trump was declared the
next American president. He will be the
47th president and will return to the White
House on January 20th 2025.
The polls before the election suggested the result between
Mr Trump and the Democrat candidate, Kamala Harris,
would be close. In the end, Mr Trump got 49.9% of the
vote to win.
The president of the United States is often thought to be
the most powerful person in the world. Mr Trump has big
plans and has said that he will begin to make changes from
his first day in office. His decisions will impact not just the
United States, but countries worldwide.
Jonah Elkowitz / Shutterstock.com
What happened?
Why?
Where?
When?
Who is involved?
1
Poster
The Olympic
games
On July 26th 2024 the Olympic games
began in Paris. However, just like with
previous Olympics, there were many news
reports about whether or not the games
were fair.
The first discussion about fairness focused on gender
inequality. For the first time in Olympic history, an equal
number of male and female athletes signed up
to compete. But women could still compete in fewer
events overall and there were no rules to make sure
every country entered both male and female athletes.
Some people also questioned the cost of the games in
2024. The budget for the Paris Olympics and Paralympics
was estimated to be about €8.9 billion.
Some people wondered how fair it was that Russia and
Belarus were banned from the Olympics for their role
in the Ukraine war. However, other countries who are at
war, including Israel, could still compete.
kovop / Shutterstock.com
What happened?
Why?
Where?
When?
Who is involved?
2
Poster
Turning against
tourism
Anti-tourism protests made the news
in tourism hotspots including Venice,
Barcelona, Bali and the Canary Islands.
Some of these protests disrupted people’s holidays and
travel plans.
Locals said they were fed up with tourists behaving badly.
For example, by littering, not respecting the local culture
or drinking too much alcohol.
The news explained how different places were trying
different things to solve the problem. For example,
authorities in Barcelona, Spain, removed a popular bus
route from Google maps so that only locals would know
it existed; in Venice, Italy, tourists were charged €5 per
day to visit. Tourists who visited Palau, an island in the
West Pacific, could earn points in an app for behaving
responsibly. These points could “buy” them exclusive
experiences, such as swimming in secret caves or meals
with locals.
Jaroslav Moravcik / Shutterstock.com
What happened?
Why?
Where?
When?
Who is involved?
3
Poster
Getting involved
in global conflicts
Conflict has been an important theme in
2024 – there have been regular news reports
about wars involving Sudan; Israel, Hamas and
Hizbullah; and Russia and Ukraine. But how
much should countries support others?
In the war between Russia and Ukraine, many countries
have been supporting Ukraine. But Ukrainian President,
Volodymyr Zelensky, has said that more aid is needed
and that Western countries haven’t given enough.
The Sudan conflict is a war between two groups that
want to lead Sudan. Lots of countries including Iran,
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates
have chosen to support a side. Russia is reported to be
supporting both sides.
Finally, the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas,
the group that leads Gaza, has divided opinions around
the globe. Some countries, including Lebanon, have
supported Hamas. However others, like the United
States, have sided with Israel.
What happened?
Why?
Where?
When?
Who is involved?
4