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Join in with Topical Tuesdays and get fascinating news stories with free teaching activities every week.
All of the news is hand-picked from the excellent current affairs magazine for children, The Week Junior, and the creative resources that go with this are written by experienced teachers.
We’ve made it so the activities can be used for 10-minute writing warm ups and for homework, but you’ll find plenty of ways to extend each Topical Tuesday into much bigger projects – should they capture the imagination of your class.
If your class is excited by the current affairs stories in Topical Tuesdays then you can build on this thirst for knowledge with a school subscription to The Week Junior.
Click here to discover the latest offers and to see how children can be inspired by world events.
In the meantime, check back here each week to find the latest free news story and classroom activities to download.
Date added: 27/4/20
MPs meet in virtual Parliament for the first time.
Last week, on 21 April, virtual debates were held in the House of Commons because of social distancing regulations set out because of the coronavirus outbreak.
It’s a first for the 700-year history of Parliament, to have MPs meet online.
Not everyone was taking part via the internet, however, as up to 50 MPs were allowed inside. Any more than that and you wouldn’t be able to keep everyone at a safe 2m distance from each other.
Screens were placed around the chamber for those who were taking part via Zoom.
But not everyone will get to take part at all, as the limit for Zoom meetings is 120 people, meaning a maximum of 170 will take part in total.
Click here to download.
Date added: 20/4/20
The Government has drawn more criticism in this week’s story, for not providing NHS staff with enough PPE (personal protective equipment) such as masks, gloves and other protective clothing during the coronavirus crisis.
To help minimise the risk of people on the frontline of working with people with Covid-19 (or even just suspected cases) from contracting the virus, the government’s own guidelines say that they should wear an apron, gloves, a surgical mask and eye protection.
However, supplies are running low, according to the British Medical Association, and most items can only be used once.
Date added: 14/4/20
This week’s story features a heartwarming tale of an unusual friendship.
In Pairi Daiza zoo, in Brugelette, Belgium, orangutans and otters have been seen playing together.
Mathieu Goedefroy, who works at the zoo, said “It makes life fun for both species.”
The two animals live in the same area of the zoo, and the otters like to come out of the water to keep the great apes entertained.
Date added: 6/4/20
Bob Weighton, the world’s oldest man, recently celebrated his 112th birthday.
Weighton lives in Hampshire, and has three children, 10 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren. He was born on 29 March 1908, which is coincidentally the exact same day as the UK’s oldest living woman, Joan Hocquard, who lives in Dorset.
He has lived through 22 UK Prime Ministers and five ruling monarchs. He met his wife in Taiwan, where he was teaching English classes, before working as a codebreaker during the Second World War. Once the conflict was over, he returned to teaching in England before retiring in 1973.
Date added: 31/3/20
At 1am on 29 March, the clocks went forward by one hour, marking the start of British Summer Time (BST).
The clocks change to BST, also known as Daylight Saving Time, every year on the last Sunday of March.
It is done so that people can make the most of the extra hours of daylight there are during the summer.
The first person in the UK to suggest BST was a man called William Willett, who wrote about the idea in 1907. The change was introduced in 1916.
Date added: 24/3/20
This week’s news looks at the acts of kindness people have been showing to each other as we all try to stem the outbreak of the coronavirus.
From a postcard scheme where healthy people can provide their address to quarantined neighbours and offer to run errands for them, to professional football clubs across the UK donating the food that they had prepared for match days that were cancelled, there have been all sorts of kind acts.
Date added: 17/3/20
This week’s story looks at the spread of the coronavirus, which causes Covid-19, and the effect it has has in Italy.
The Italian government has placed the country in quarantine, in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus, with people being banned from travelling and being asked to stay at home.
As well as banning public gatherings, like sporting events, all schools and universities have been closed to stop young people from getting sick. Lessons will be carried out online as best possible.
Date added: 10/3/20
A new study from the National Trust has shown that children and young people’s wellbeing was improved by engaging with activities connected to the natural world, and that they were happier if they were relaxing outdoors.
However, it also showed that more than three quarters of children aged between eight and 15 rarely or never listen to birdsong, and that they never watch the Sun rise (90%), look at clouds (79%) or smell wildflowers (83%).
In order to combat the problem, the National Trust has launched a week-by-week Get Connected to Nature programme, full of tips for activities that take between 20 seconds and 20 minutes to complete, to help children connect with nature.
You can get this free nine-week plan here.
Date added: 3/3/20
Researchers have discovered that beavers help reduce flooding and pollution, and can boost populations of fish and other wildlife.
One of the biggest things they noticed was that there were 37% more fish in ponds created by beavers’ dams than in areas without beavers.
Why is this? Well, the tangled branches of the dams trap soil and pollution, such as manure and fertiliser, that runs off land nearby.
On top of this, the dams also slow the speed at which flood water flows downriver after heavy rain, reducing the risk of flooding to farmland and vulnerable villages.
Date added: 25/2/20
Scientists have picked up a mysterious signal coming from a galaxy 500 million light years from Earth.
We first discovered signals like these back in 2001, and they are known as FRBs – fast radio bursts.
Since they were discovered in 2001, there have been over 100 of these powerful radio emissions – called FRBs (fast radio bursts) – observed, but because they mostly last only a second they’re hard to study.
This new one, however, is the first to have a regular cycle, which lasts 16 days.
Scientists are not sure what creates the bursts, but think they may come from giant stars that have collapsed and died.
Date added: 18/2/20
Tom and Jerry, the famous animated cat-and-mouse duo, turned 80 this week, celebrating their anniversary on 10 February.
These notorious enemies first appeared in a nine-minute short film in 1940, title Puss gets the Boot, and have appeared in more than 150 cartoons overall.
It was made by animators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, the pair behind Hanna-Barbera Productions which created the likes of The Flintstones, Scooby Doo, Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear.
This original film was even nominated for an Best Animated Short award at the Oscars.
But while Tom and Jerry are still very popular today, some of the older cartoons (like many from that era) are criticised for showing certain characters being treated unfairly because of the colour of their skin.
This PDF resource includes this article, as well as accompanying activity ideas:
Date added: 11/2/20
The Topical Tuesday this week revolves around the strange occurrence of taking a 4,000-year-old skeleton to the dentist.
When a tree in Dorset was ripped up by a storm, it revealed a crushed skeleton, and Nancy Grace was straight on the case.
Nancy is a a detective and storyteller who finds clues from the past, and part of the National Trust’s archaeology team.
As an archaeologist, she spends her days researching past human activities from clues that are left behind underground, and this was one of the most memorable from her 33-year career.
She took the lower jawbone to a dentist, where an X-ray revealed signs of gum disease, and that this person was about 26 when she died, around 4,000 years ago.
Date added: 4/2/20
A recent report produced by 14 local wildlife trusts and other charities that looked into the planned HS2 rail line between London and the West Midlands has shown that the project will put several species at risk of extinction, including barn owls and rare bats.
The route of the high speed train link, which also goes on to Manchester and Leeds, will reportedly cause damage to almost 700 local wildlife sites, over 100 ancient woodlands, five internationally protected wildlife sites and other places of special scientific interest.
The project, which could cost £106 billion or more, has been criticised by experts who have been gathering information for the Government about whether it should go ahead.
Date added: 28/1/20
This week’s big story is about three brothers from Scotland – Ewan, 27, Jamie, 26, and Lachlan, 21 – who broke three world records for rowing across the Atlantic.
The MacLeans not only beat the record for the fastest time for a trio to row across the ocean, but utterly smashed it. They did it in just 35 days, six days quicker than the previous record.
They also became the youngest trio to row the ocean, and the first set of three brothers to do it.
The brothers are using their success to raise money for several charities, including Children First – a charity for young people in Scotland.
Date added: 21/1/20
This week’s activities focus on the news that on 13 January, the Queen announced she would allow Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle to reduce their royal responsibilities.
The couple had released a statement on 8 January saying they wanted to “step back as senior members of the royal family” and it is believed that they wish to split their time between the UK and Canada.
Harry and Meghan are looking to focus on new projects, including their own charity, and hoped this move would enable them to raise their son, Archie, with “an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born” while also providing space to “focus on the next chapter”.
They said that although they still want to perform some royal duties, they want to explore opportunities to earn money and support themselves.
Currently, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expected to undertake certain royal duties, and in return they are paid a vast sum of money from the Sovereign Grant, money which the Government past to the Royal Family.
The total Sovereign Grant last year was £82.2 million.
However, most of Prince Harry’s money is given to him by his father, Prince Charles, whose income comes from the Duchy of Cornwall – a collection of farms, land and rental cottages in several places across the UK.
Date added: 14/1/20
More than 1,000 people, including celebrities, politicians, sports stars and members of the public, have been celebrated in the New Year’s Honours List.
The list recognises people who have done outstanding work in their communities or in their professions. They are chosen by the UK Government each year.
After the announcement was made, the Government was forced to apologise because its online list of those receiving honours revealed their full home and work addresses.
The list included celebrities and some people who work in the military and the Ministry of Defence (a Government department that looks after the UK’s defence and security), whose addresses should have been kept secret.
Date added: 7/1/20
A new super-sweet variety of apple, called the Cosmic Crisp, hit the shops in the US on 1 December. Apple growers from the state of Washington, in the north-western US, say that if you keep it in the fridge it will still be fine to eat a year later.
It’s taken more than 20 years for fruit breeders working at Washington State University to perfect this new kind of apple.
It all began in 1997, when breeders crossed the Honeycrisp and Enterprise varieties to create a tree that produced apples with naturally high levels of acidity (sharp-tasting chemicals) and sugar.
The sugar makes the Cosmic Crisp taste sweet, while the acidity stops the fruit from browning and creates a long-lasting crunchy texture.
By 2025, the growers aim to be selling two billion apples a year.
Date added: 17/12/19
The National Literacy Trust recently carried out a survey of over 50k children in the United Kingdom aged between nine and 18 years old, which revealed nearly 400,000 young people in the UK don’t own a single book.
Just over 6% of the 56,000 who took part admitted to not having any books at home, leading to an estimate that this is the case for 383,774 children in Britain. Those from disadvantaged backgrounds were the most likely to be in this group.
Date added: 10/12/19
This week’s big news story involves a historic heist of historic proportions, as George Powell and Layton Davies were jailed for the theft of Viking treasure believed to be worth £12m.
But if you’re picturing an Ocean’s 11-style heist, then the truth is rather more pedestrian.
The two men are avid detectorists, and found the treasure in a field in Herefordshire back in 2015, using their metal detectors.
“What’s the fuss then?” you might ask. Well, the law in the UK means that anyone finding historical objects must report it, and anything found to be treasure is technically the property of the Queen.
The two men instead decided to try to sell the collection of around 300 coins and items of jewellery, and so far only a small portion of it has been recovered.
Date added: 3/12/19
This week we’re looking at the recent ITV political debate between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Your pupils will look at what a general election is, as well as the important topics in the buildup to the 12 December election that were covered in this debate.
The main points of interest were the future of the National Health Service, and the prospect of Britain leaving the EU.
Date added: 26/11/19
In the latest topical Tuesday we’re looking at the heavy rain that caused widespread flooding across parts of northern and central England on 7 November.
At least one person has died; 500 homes have been flooded; and people from 1,200 properties have had to leave their homes.
More rain fell in 24 hours in the counties of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire than would normally fall in a whole month. This caused rivers to flood, and several towns and cities were overwhelmed with water.
Some people whose homes have been ruined by the flooding are angry about what has happened. They say they were given little warning about the floods, and that more could have been done to stop the rivers from bursting their banks.
Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party, and Jo Swinson, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, have both visited the areas that were worst affected. They say the Government should have done more to help those in need.
The Environment Agency, which works to protect and improve the environment, said it will assess the country’s flood defences to see if they need to be changed.
Date added: 19/11/19
The big story this week looks at two groups of monkeys in Southeast Asia, living on islands that are a mere six miles apart.
These long-tailed macaques have been studied by scientists in the way they use stone tools. They carefully select rocks to crack open the shells of various shellfish, so that they can eat the innards.
Strangely, one group would keep their tools for reuse, while the other on the neighbouring island would cast away their stones having used them just once.
Why is this important? Well, these behavioural differences are examples of culture, something that’s typically just a human trait. It implies that different groups of monkeys can develop their own traditions of behaviour in their own environments.
Researchers also believe this could be helpful for any scientists exploring how early humans used stone tools.
Date added: 12/11/19
In the latest Topical Tuesday we’re looking at a painting that was found in a French that sold for £20 million.
The painting was created in the 13th century, and became the most expensive medieval painting ever sold.
It was discovered as an elderly woman was preparing to move out of her home in the French town of Compiègne. She said she didn’t know where the painting had come from.
Date added: 5/11/19
This week, we’re looking at how language evolves, and how and why new words and phrases are added to the Oxford English Dictionary.
Updated four times a year, and the October 2019 version includes 203 new words.
This list is dominated by words from the Star Wars universe, including lightsabre and Jedi.
The word kapow (representing the sound of an explosion, gunshot, hard punch or blow, commonly found in comics) also made the list.
Other additions include slang terms, such as sumfin (something), whatevs (whatever), chewy (chewing gum) and chillax (to calm down and relax).
Date added: 29/10/19
This week’s, the main focus is on the Royal Mint celebrating 50 years since the launch of the 50p coin by revealing the rarest 50p coins ever made.
The first 50p coin was introduced on 14 October 1969. Made in the shape of a heptagon, it was the world’s first seven-sided coin. The initial reaction to it was mixed – one newspaper at the time called it “a monstrous piece of metal”.
The coin was introduced as part of a process called decimalisation. This is when a currency is changed to be based around multiples of 10 or 100.
Students will learn all about this history.
Date added: 22/10/19
This week’s feature looks at perseverance vs giving up. Its main story is Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s recent gold medal in the heptathlon.
She waited a long time to win a gold medal, and says that her years of disappointment helped her to keep trying and prevented her from giving up.
Other stories include a Russian singer in Los Angeles who reached a new audience when a police officer filmed her busking, and a 17-year-old Syrian who taught himself English by reading the Harry Potter books who has won a scholarship to study in Wales.
Date added: 15/10/19
This week’s feature is all about a robot called Atlas. Built by a robotics company in Massachusetts called Boston Dynamics, he is described as being ‘the world’s most dynamic humanoid robot’.
Despite standing at 1.5m tall and weighing 80kg, Atlas is a nimble gymnast, and there are videos to prove it.
Date added: 8/10/19
This week’s feature looks at the possibility of alien life, specifically on a planet known as K2-18b.
It’s not a very catchy name, no. But it’s also known as ‘Super-Earth’ as it is twice as large as our planet, and has eight times the mass.
More importantly, scientists at UCL recently found water vapour in its atmosphere, making it the most likely destination for alien lifeforms.
Date added: 1/10/19
This week’s feature looks at the global climate change action that took place on the 21 September, the International Day of Peace.
Students will discover what the aim of the International Day of Peace is, how climate change affects peace, what the UN is doing about climate change and how young people can get involved.
Date added: 24/9/19
This feature looks at organ donation and how it can save lives.
Students will learn about what the major organs do in the body, and how problems with them can affect someone’s health. They will also find out about the first ever organ transplant, and how transplants work.
Date added: 17/9/19
This week’s feature looks at the devastating fires in the Amazon rainforest, and the global protests that are taking place to ensure their protection.
Students will learn what caused the fires, how many fires there have been, why this is so important, how the world has reacted and how Brazil has responded.
Date added: 10/9/19
In this week’s article students will learn about a power cut that affected 1,000,000 people in England and Wales, the biggest in a decade.
Activities include holding a debate on our reliance on electricity and whether we should be forced to go without electrical appliances for two hours each day, writing instructions on what to do in the event of a power cut, investigating how much power you use by keeping a mini-diary of all your activities that require electricity, and more.
Date added: 3/9/19
This instalment introduces children to the effects of plastic bags on animals in the ocean, discussing how traditional plastic bags can stay around for 1,000 years.
It also looks at what alternatives we have for a greener future.
Date added: 27/8/19
This first instalment introduces children to Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai – an island that sprung from the sea five years ago, and which scientists have just discovered is teeming with life.
How did it get there, and where did the animals come from?
Explore these questions and more in these activities.
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