Resources for Talking with Students about the Insurrection at the Capitol and Georgia Run-Off Win

Resources compiled by Jayne Sohn

It is important to note that conversations on these topics should be ongoing and that brave spaces should be created with clear norms for classroom conversations. It is not assumed that any of these pieces are comprehensive and all-inclusive, but can be used to spark discussion and offer multiple perspectives. As always, we encourage schools engaging in classroom conversations to use critical literacy skills as part of the process. Our resources Discussing Current Events: Part of a Regular Classroom Practice and Critical Literacy Questions To Support Critical Thinkers And Readers may be useful to refer back to.

Insurrection at the Capitol

Teaching Ideas/Strategies:

• Teaching Ideas/Strategies:

  • NEA: Talking to Kids About the Attack on the Capitol

  • BEYOND THE SPOTLIGHT: RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS ON THE DAYS AFTER THE ATTACK ON THE U.S. CAPITOL.

  • NYTIMES: Teaching Resources to Help Students Make Sense of the Rampage at the Capitol

  • ADL: Discussing Political Violence and Extremism with Young People

    • 5 TIPS FOR TALKING WITH CHILDREN ABOUT HATE INCIDENTS

  • MORNINGSIDE CENTER: American Democracy, Week 1 of 2021

  • FACING HISTORY: WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE INSURRECTION AT THE US CAPITOL AND WHY?

  • FACING HISTORY: RESPONDING TO THE INSURRECTION AT THE US CAPITOL

  • EDWEEK: Caring for Students in the Wake of a Traumatic News Event

  • TEACHING TOLERANCE: Leading Conversations After Crisis

  • MIKVA CHALLENGE: Lesson Ideas: Attack on the Capitol/ Insurrection in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021 (Includes a slide show)

  • ICIVICS: Peaceful Transfer of Power (infographic lesson)

  • TEACHING TOLERANCE: When Bad Things Are Happening

  • PBS: Classroom resource: Three ways to teach the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol

    • Activity 1: Classroom Discussion: Begins with a Video that shares a summary of events. Includes guiding questions.

    • Activity 2: Media Literacy Using Images: “Several different U.S. departments and law enforcement agencies were sent to Washington D.C. including the National Guard during Black Lives Matter protests over the summer, which were overall very peaceful. Contrast this with Wednesday’s insurrection at the nation’s Capitol in which individuals stormed the halls of Congress.” 

    • Activity 3: Examining Trump and Biden’s Comments. Includes guiding questions.

Building Background Knowledge for kids:

• ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL: U.S. Capitol Building

• Birds Eye View Map of the Capitol Building:

Teacher/Student Resources: 

• NEWSELA: Pro-Trump mob storms U.S. Capitol in bid to overturn election

• HARPERS BAZAAR: What happened at the Capitol shows white privilege in plain view

• WOKE KINDERGARTEN: Spot the Difference

• NPR: How Police Handled Pro-Trump Mob Compared With Protesters For Black Racial Justice

• MSNBC: Brittany Packnett Cunningham: Pro-Trump mob a 'literal example of white supremacy (Video)

• CNN: Rioters breached US Capitol security on Wednesday. This was the police response when it was Black protesters on DC streets last year (Text and Video)

• Buzzfeed: Biden Said Black Lives Matter Protesters Would Have Been Treated "Very Differently" Than The Trump Mob Was At The Capitol

• LATIMES: Michelle Obama says she has ‘been feeling so many emotions since yesterday’

• NPR: Trump Supporters Storm U.S. Capitol, Clash With Police

• USA TODAY: President Trump supporters violently storm Capitol Hill: Here's everything we know (Q & A)

• CBS NEWS: Senator Mitt Romney calls on colleagues to tell voters the truth (Video - 2nd half is especially relevant)

• BBC: Facebook blocks Trump 'until transition complete'

• USA TODAY: President Trump blocked from posting to Facebook, Instagram 'indefinitely,' at least through end of term

• NYTIMES: Watch out for this misinformation when Congress meets to certify the election.

• TED ED: How does impeachment work? (Video)

• Possible invocation of the 25th Amendment: What is the 25th Amendment?

  • THE HILL: Schumer calls for 25th Amendment to be invoked after Capitol riots

  • POLITICO: ‘End this nightmare’: Lawmakers push to invoke 25th Amendment to remove Trump

Picture Books for K-2:

• The Breaking News by Sarah Lynne Reul - Youtube Read Aloud link

  • “When devastating news rattles a young girl's community, her normally attentive parents and neighbors are suddenly exhausted and distracted. At school, her teacher tells the class to look for the helpers―the good people working to make things better in big and small ways. She wants more than anything to help in a BIG way, but maybe she can start with one small act of kindness instead . . . and then another, and another.Small things can compound, after all, to make a world of difference.”

• Come With Me by Holly M McGhee - Youtube Read Aloud Link 

  • “When the news reports are flooded with tales of hatred and fear, a girl asks her papa what she can do to make the world a better place. “Come with me,” he says. Hand-in-hand, they walk to the subway, tipping their hats to those they meet. The next day, the girl asks her mama what she can do—her mama says, “Come with me,” and together they set out for the grocery, because one person doesn’t represent an entire race or the people of a land. After dinner that night, the little girl asks if she can do something of her own—walk the dog . . . and her parents let her go. “Come with me,” the girl tells the boy across the hall. Walking together, one step at a time, the girl and the boy begin to see that as small and insignificant as their part may seem, it matters to the world.”

Georgia Run-Off Wins

Teacher/Student Resources: 

• NEWSELA: Warnock and Ossoff win in Georgia, giving Democrats a majority in the Senate

• NYTIMES: What’s a Runoff, and Why Are There Two? Here’s Why Georgia Matters

• NYTIMES: Georgia Highlights: Democrats Win the Senate as Ossoff Defeats Perdue (Infographics and Text)

• USA TODAY: Georgia's Senate runoffs: Ossoff projected to win runoff, giving Democrats Senate majority (Video + Text)

• THE GUARDIAN: How Black voters lifted Georgia Democrats to Senate runoff victories

• THE INTERCEPT: Led by Black Women, Organizers in Georgia Work to Replicate Election Success in Senate Runoff (Video)

• NPR: Black Voters Matter Co-Founder: Black Voters In Georgia Fuel 'New Southern Strategy' (Text with 7 minute audio)