IB MYP Individuals and Societies Current Events Lessons

37 current events lessons for IB MYP Individuals and Societies. Each lesson has readings at three grade levels, discussion questions and a critical thinking task.

37 lessons

  • New

    Brazil Election 2026 – Two Round Runoff

    In the Brazil runoff election on October 25th, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who led the first round with 47%, faces President Lula. In this current events lesson for Grades…

    Democracy & ElectionsIdeologyLegitimacy
    Latin America & CaribbeanMini-unit: Electoral Systems · Lesson 1
  • New

    What Does the UN General Assembly Accomplish?

    The UN General Assembly's high-level week produces declarations, speeches and private diplomacy, but what does it actually accomplish? In this current events lesson for Grades 6-12, students weigh…

    Peace & ConflictInterdependenceLegitimacy
    East Asia & Pacific · Europe & Central Asia · Latin America & Caribbean · Middle East & North Africa · North America · South Asia · Sub-Saharan Africa
  • New

    Gerrymandering Lesson Plan: Who Should Draw the Lines?

    This gerrymandering lesson plan shows how district lines can decide an election, using maps drawn by both parties and Missouri's 2025 redraw. In this lesson for Grades 6-12,…

    Democracy & ElectionsEqualityPower
    North AmericaMini-unit: 2026 US Midterm Elections · Lesson 3
  • New

    Issues in the 2026 US Midterm Elections

    The economy leads the list of American voters' concerns, but according to an Ipsos/Reuters poll from September, 71% name something else, from democracy to immigration to healthcare. Using…

    Democracy & ElectionsIdeologySecurity
    North AmericaMini-unit: 2026 US Midterm Elections · Lesson 2

  • White House Press Ban

    A differentiated lesson on what freedom of the press protects, why it matters, and what people can do when they believe it has been violated. This lesson is…

    Rights & JusticeLegitimacyPower
    North America

  • USA and Denmark Agree to Greenland Deal

    Greenland has a population of only 57,000 but has been at the centre of a major security debate for the last few years. This lesson uses the US-Denmark-Greenland…

    Peace & ConflictSecuritySovereignty
    Europe & Central Asia · North America

  • Is Canada Joining the EU?

    The EU has invited Canada to become its first "associate member", a status that doesn't exist yet. This lesson uses that offer to ask what a country actually…

    Economics & DevelopmentInterdependenceSovereignty
    Europe & Central Asia · North America

  • Ukrainian Refugee Crisis

    Over five million refugees. Another three million displaced inside Ukraine. But the numbers hide something: displacement has not meant one thing. Kyiv's population came back. Kharkiv's has left…

    Rights & JusticeEqualityIdentity
    Europe & Central AsiaMini-unit: Ukraine War · Lesson 4

  • United Nations Adopts ‘Equal Earth’ World Maps

    On 4 September 2026 the UN General Assembly voted 164-1 to encourage equal-area world maps. This lesson turns that vote into a study of how a cartographic choice…

    Media & TechnologyIdentityPower
    Europe & Central Asia · Middle East & North Africa · North America · Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Supersized El Niño in 2026-27

    The UN's meteorological agency says this El Niño is almost certain to run through February 2027 and may be the strongest on record. But a stronger event does…

    Environment & SustainabilityEqualityGlobalization
    East Asia & Pacific · Latin America & Caribbean · North America
  • Free lesson

    Ukraine Resists Russian Invasion

    Experts expected Ukraine and its capital, Kyiv, to fall within days. It didn't. This lesson examines the different explanations for Ukraine's defense and asks how much of Ukraine's…

    Peace & ConflictInterdependenceSovereignty
    Europe & Central AsiaMini-unit: Ukraine War · Lesson 3

  • What are US Midterm Elections?

    Every two years, Americans elect a Congress that can reshape what a president is able to do, but without removing the president. This background lesson explains how that…

    Democracy & ElectionsLegitimacyPower
    North AmericaMini-unit: 2026 US Midterm Elections · Lesson 1

  • Russian Invasion of Ukraine

    In February 2022, Russia said it had launched a limited operation while analysts saw a bid to seize Kyiv within days. Students weigh Russia's stated aims against its…

    Peace & ConflictPowerSecurity
    Europe & Central AsiaMini-unit: Ukraine War · Lesson 2

  • Mecca Joint Defense Agreement

    Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan have signed a defence pact stating that an attack on one is an attack on all. A three-level lesson on why states pool…

    Peace & ConflictSecuritySovereignty
    Middle East & North Africa

  • USA – Canada Trade War

    Hours before a midnight tariff deadline, Canada suspended trade negotiations with the United States and 50% tariffs took effect. Both governments blame the other. This lesson uses the…

    Economics & DevelopmentPeace & ConflictInterdependencePowerSovereignty
    North America
  • Free lesson

    EU Artificial Intelligence Law

    On August 2nd, 2026, the EU began enforcing the world's first binding AI transparency law. This free lesson turns that case into a full class on power and…

    Media & TechnologyGlobalizationPower
    Europe & Central Asia

  • Elon Musk: World’s First Trillionaire

    Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire in June 2026 – but lost the title twelve days later. This lesson uses that rise and fall to ask whether…

    Economics & DevelopmentEqualityIdeology
    North America

  • Background to the Ukraine War

    How did the largest war in Europe since 1945 begin? Students trace Ukraine's path from independence to invasion, touching on the Budapest Memorandum, NATO expansion, Euromaidan, Crimea, and…

    Peace & ConflictNationalismSovereignty
    Europe & Central AsiaMini-unit: Ukraine War · Lesson 1

  • Dr. Anthony Fauci Congressional Hearing

    A U.S. Senate committee voted to hold a former health official in contempt after he refused to answer questions. Students use the case to ask a bigger civic…

    Rights & JusticeLegitimacyPower
    North America

  • Cockroach Protests in India

    When a leaked exam forced more than two million Indian students to re-sit, a satirical youth movement rose up and toppled a cabinet minister. Students weigh the movement's…

    Rights & JusticeIdentityLegitimacy
    South Asia

  • Ukraine’s Military Shakeup

    In one week in July 2026, Ukraine replaced its defence minister, its commander-in-chief and its chief of the General Staff. Ukrainian protesters opposed one of those decisions and…

    Peace & ConflictLegitimacyPowerSecurity
    Europe & Central AsiaMini-unit: Ukraine War · Lesson 5

  • US-Saudi Nuclear Deal

    The United States and Saudi Arabia signed a nuclear cooperation agreement in July 2026. This lesson uses it to examine what a country trades away when it buys…

    Economics & DevelopmentInterdependenceSecurity
    Middle East & North Africa

  • Temporary Protected Status – USA

    In June 2026, the US Supreme Court ruled 6–3 in a case called Mullin v. Doe and allowed the government to end Temporary Protected Status for people from…

    Rights & JusticeEqualityLegitimacy
    North America

  • Japan’s First Mayor to Take Maternity Leave

    When Japan's youngest female mayor announced maternity leave, she exposed a system with no rule for the situation. This classroom-ready lesson turns that debate into a study of…

    Democracy & ElectionsRights & JusticeEqualityLegitimacy
    East Asia & Pacific

  • 2026 NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey

    A tense NATO summit in Ankara puts one question in sharp focus: what holds a military alliance together when its most powerful member publicly doubts its value? Students…

    Peace & ConflictInterdependenceSecurity
    Europe & Central Asia · North America

  • World Cup: USA’s Balogun has Suspension Lifted

    When the US President phoned FIFA to reverse a player's red card at the 2026 World Cup, sport's promise of neutral, independent rules collided with political power. A…

    Peace & ConflictLegitimacyPower
    Europe & Central Asia · North America

  • UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer Resigns

    In June 2026, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer resigned less than two years after a landslide win and without losing an election. This ready-to-teach lesson uses his fall…

    Democracy & ElectionsLegitimacyPower
    Europe & Central Asia

  • Venezuelan Earthquakes

    Two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela in June 2026, killing thousands and testing responders at every level. This classroom-ready lesson uses the disaster to explore a bigger question: what…

    Environment & SustainabilityEqualityInterdependence
    Latin America & Caribbean

  • 2026 European Heatwaves

    Europe's record-breaking 2026 heatwave put governments to the test. Students examine how different countries responded , from emergency health measures to school closures, and assess the debate between…

    Environment & SustainabilityInterdependenceSecurity
    Europe & Central Asia

  • Iran War Deal in Jeopardy

    A ceasefire deal was signed, then the two sides sat down to negotiate peace while openly threatening each other with force, and disagreed over whether a core promise…

    Peace & ConflictLegitimacySovereignty
    Middle East & North Africa · North America

  • Iran War Deal – June 2026

    A classroom-ready lesson on the 2026 US-Iran deal. Students explore why stopping the fighting is easier than building a lasting peace, weighing six issues that could make or…

    Peace & ConflictPowerSecurity
    Middle East & North Africa · North America

  • Comparing Independence Movements

    Four regions, one question: who gets to decide whether part of a country can leave? Students examine Scotland, Catalonia, Quebec, and Alberta to understand why independence movements arise,…

    Democracy & ElectionsIdentityNationalismSovereignty
    Europe & Central Asia · North America

  • World Cup 2026

    This classroom-ready current events lesson using the 2026 FIFA World Cup asks: to what extent are international sporting events political? Includes differentiated readings for Grades 6-12, discussion questions,…

    Peace & ConflictGlobalizationNationalismPower
    East Asia & Pacific · Europe & Central Asia · Latin America & Caribbean · Middle East & North Africa · North America · Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Free lesson

    Rodrigo Duterte ICC Trial

    When governments abuse human rights, who stops them? This lesson uses the Duterte drug war case to examine how NGOs and international courts work together, and where each…

    Rights & JusticeInterdependencePower
    East Asia & Pacific

  • Ebola Outbreak 2026

    When the WHO declared the 2026 Ebola outbreak in DRC and Uganda a global health emergency, it resurfaced ongoing questions about why outbreaks hit lower-income countries hardest. This…

    Economics & DevelopmentEqualityInterdependence
    Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Canada Pipeline Debate 2026

    When environmental and economic security collide, whose definition wins? This lesson uses Canada's 2026 pipeline debates (Coastal GasLink, the Alberta-BC crude pipeline, and the Bridger expansion) to teach…

    Environment & SustainabilityIdeologySecuritySovereignty
    North America
  • Free lesson

    Iran War Ceasefire

    A two-week ceasefire in the Iran War. One big question: why is stopping a war so much easier than making peace last? Current events lesson in three grade…

    Peace & ConflictPowerSecurity
    Middle East & North Africa

Lessons are matched to this course from the curriculum links in each lesson’s teacher notes, which list the specific outcomes.