How Educators Around the World Are Teaching the Russia-Ukraine War

Lesson Overview

 As Russia wages war with Ukraine — and millions of Ukrainians become refugees in neighboring nations that fear they could be attacked next — schooling across the European continent has continued on.

 In this lesson, students choose between three recent articles that look at “a war so close to home” from the points of view of teachers, students and parents in Poland, Germany, Denmark, England and other European countries. After the class jigsaws to discuss what they have learned, they reconvene to discuss the importance of education in society in general, even — or perhaps especially — during wartime.

 Then, in an extensive Going Further section, we have rounded up many contributions from teachers in the United States across subjects and levels who describe ways they are helping their students understand this conflict and its roots and effects.

 We hope that no matter what you teach, there is something here you can use.

Warm-Up

 A recent Times article shared the story of Inna Pasichnyk, 29, who escaped with her 11-year-old son, Volodymyr, to the Czech Republic from their home in the Donetsk region of Ukraine: When the war began, they fled their home in a rush, and Ms. Pasichnyk said she did not even remember how she packed her bag or what was in it.

“But Volodymyr even managed to take a pencil case and a notebook,” she said of her son. After they relocated and got settled, he restarted his education over video call.

 Invite your students to reflect on this passage and the following questions by writing in a journal or discussing with their classmates in small groups:

 Do Volodymyr’s actions surprise you? Why do you think The Times might have included this specific detail of this family’s story? What do you think it says about the power and importance of education, and the role it plays in young people’s lives, even amidst an ongoing war?

What purpose do you think schools can serve in a time like this, whether for students in Ukraine who are directly affected by the war, for those in Europe who are feeling the shock waves of it, or even for those far away, like students in the United States?

Have your own teachers discussed the war in Ukraine in your classes? Would you like them to? If so, what do you want to know more about?

 Jigsaw Activity 

Now, students will participate in a jigsaw activity. Below are three articles about three different student populations that have been affected by the war in Ukraine. Assign each student, or have them choose, one of the articles to become an “expert” in. Make sure there are about an even number of students reading each article. 

Have students read their assigned articles and answer the following questions:

1. What population of students does your article focus on? 

2. What does school look like for these students now? In what ways is it different than it was before the war in Ukraine?