Global Studies Curriculum for Grades 6–12

Current events in a global studies course

A global studies course asks students to explain how countries, international organizations and ordinary people respond to problems that cross borders. Current events give the course its cases. Each lesson starts from one recent event, such as a vote at the UN General Assembly or a new security agreement, and asks a question that students can only answer by weighing evidence from more than one country. Because the readings come at three levels, the same lesson works in Grades 6–8, 9–10 and 11–12.

Organizing a global studies semester by topic

The Topic buttons above sort the lessons into the areas most global studies courses cover. Teachers can build a unit around each area and teach the units in any order.

• Global Governance & the UN: how international organizations make decisions, and what they can and cannot achieve.
• Conflict & Security: wars, alliances and the efforts to end them, from Ukraine to the Middle East.
• Human Rights: how rights are claimed, protected and contested.
• Trade & Development: trade agreements, sanctions and inequality between countries.
• Climate & Environment: how countries prepare for a changing climate, and who pays for it.
• Migration & Refugees: why people leave home and what decides whether they can return.
• Technology & Society: how governments regulate technology that crosses borders, such as artificial intelligence.

Built for international classrooms

The library is written for teachers in many countries, so its cases come from every region and its curriculum links cover IB, AP, Canadian provinces, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. The lessons are written by a teacher and IB Coordinator who teaches Global Politics, and the IB Global Politics links follow that course’s core topics and thematic studies. Ten concepts, including sovereignty, interdependence and security, run through the whole library. As a result, a class can compare a case from Europe with one from Asia or Latin America using the same vocabulary.

Related courses

The same lessons are also listed for Current Events, World History, Geography, AP Comparative Government and IB DP Global Politics. Teachers who use another name for the course, such as Global Perspectives, Global Issues or International Relations, will find the same lessons here.

Try a lesson with your class

Several lessons are free in full, with the slides, handouts and teacher notes included. See the free current events lessons and try one with your class before you subscribe.