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.
“Pencil Cases and Air-Raid Sirens: School at War for Ukraine’s Children”
“In European Classrooms, Questions About a War So Close to Home”
“In Europe’s Schoolyards, Putin’s War Hurts Russian-Speaking Children”
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?
3. What are some of the specific challenges this group of students is facing because of Russia’s attack on Ukraine? What effect is the war having on them — whether it be their school’s location, how the war is impacting them emotionally, or anything else?
4. In what ways are teachers helping students navigate these challenges, if at all?
5. What are some of the fears or challenges teachers themselves are facing because of the war?
6. You’ve read one of three articles about what education is like for a specific group of students. What role is school serving for the group you read about? Is there anything more schools could be doing to support these young people? If so, what and why?
Now, put students into “teaching groups” composed of one or two students who read each article. Invite them to share their responses to the questions above. Then, as a group or a whole class, they can discuss the following questions, drawing on evidence from the articles to support their responses:
What surprised you? How does your own schooling experience right now compare to what children in Ukraine and across Europe are experiencing?
What role can school serve, even during war? How important do you think education is in a time like this? Do you believe educators should teach about what is happening in Ukraine? How do you think they should handle this sensitive subject?
The article “Pencil Cases and Air-Raid Sirens: School at War for Ukraine’s Children” includes two significant details about education during war: First, that attacks on schools and other education facilities are, according to Save the Children, “a grave violation against children and can constitute a war crime”; second, that in some Ukrainian cities now occupied by Russian forces, Russian authorities have pushed for schools to overhaul their Ukrainian curriculums and instead teach in line with Russian schools. Ukrainian educators have fought back.
What do these two details reveal about the importance of education in a society? Why, in addition to the loss of life, might destroying schools be so devastating to a country as to be considered a war crime? Why might Russian forces want to control the curriculum of Ukrainian schools, and why might Ukrainian educators oppose that move?
Going Further: Ideas From Teachers
Many teachers answered our call in mid-March to tell us how they were addressing the war in their classrooms. Here are some responses that show the many ways, large and small, that educators have sought to help their students understand the conflict and its roots, the plight of the Ukrainian people, the role of the United States and more. They have been edited for length and clarity.
How to Start the Conversation: from Mark Gozonsky, high school English language arts, Los Angeles Unified School District
The first step in teaching the Russian invasion of Ukraine is noticing that your students need to talk about it. I realized this during 4th period on Thursday, February 24, when my 10th graders were more glum than usual. They’re usually very glum, due to being 15 years old and their transition between middle and high school having been ruined by Covid. They express this glumness by frowning and sighing and not turning in any work. Thursday’s glumness was characterized by even more frowning and sighing, as well as something new, a look of suppressed panic, as if many kids were about to scream. What’s all this about, I wondered, until an exceptionally cordial student asked me, “So what’s your opinion about World War III?”
That’s how I realized that my students needed to talk about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As a result, I took the following steps the next day, with positive results.
1. Find an informative article for students to read in class. My students liked this New York Times explainer.
2. Have students discuss the article amongst themselves. We use the Partner A - Partner B protocol, which basically means talking to the person across from you. The interest level on the Russian invasion of Ukraine was high. Everybody was talking and leaning in.
3. Hold a Community Circle. You could just call on kids in their seats, but for a topic this important, it’s worth telling them to move their seats into a circle or at least a blob where no one has their back to anyone and everyone can see everyone else’s face.
That day, my students’ remarks on the Russian invasion of Ukraine fit into five categories: empathy for the people of Ukraine, fear of World War III, criticism of Putin, criticism of memes that treat the invasion as a joke, and geopolitical curiosity.
Student-Made Infographics: from Taylor Kockenmeister, middle school math, Honors Academy of Literature, Reno, Nev.
My students have been very engaged in the Russia-Ukraine war. After teaching this Lesson of the Day, “The Invasion of Ukraine: How Russia Attacked and What Happens Next,” we investigated each of the seven topics in the “Going Further” section.
In order to better understand each of those topics, we looked at the math behind them. For example, what’s the actual ratio of Ukrainians who have left Ukraine? What percent more military equipment does Russia have compared to Ukraine?
Students then created infographics on Canva to illustrate their learning. Synthesizing that learning into smaller, digestible data bites helped them to make sense of such large, challenging concepts. Here are four examples of their work.
Laying a Foundation of Common Knowledge: from Jenna Konstantine, middle school English, math, social studies and special education, Stephen Gaynor School, New York City
My students are 11 and 12 years old and a lot of them come to the table with their own nuanced prior knowledge, but there are always gaps in basic understanding. When students feel unsure of what they know, or feel like a classmate knows more than they do, they are less likely to listen to each other and more likely to just parrot language they’ve heard at home or on TikTok. Laying a foundation of common knowledge is key for creating an environment for students to engage critically and thoughtfully. So when we discuss what’s going on in the world, especially with breaking news, one of my jobs as a teacher is to get everyone on common ground in terms of basic background knowledge and key language.
When discussing the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, that consisted of orienting everyone to where this conflict is happening geographically and what cities and countries are involved. We spoke about the history of NATO, key leaders, the concept of trade and supply chains — basically defining the common vocabulary and giving everyone the same tools for discussion.
Another important piece when discussing current events is to be mindful of identities in the room. For example, one of my students has Russian heritage, which is an important and public part of his identity in our classroom. I knew he might have complicated feelings, so I checked in with him before we spoke as a whole class.
History, Vocabulary, Maps, Graphs and More: from Jessica Castiblanco, middle school social studies, Hoover Middle School, Albuquerque
Teaching about Russia and Ukraine this spring encompassed history, vocabulary, maps, graphs, and photo analysis. We began with a brainstorm about what students had heard about what was happening with Ukraine and Russia. Then students moved on to define terms like Soviet Union, Cold War and NATO, and worked together to combine their definitions into one “best definition.” This vocabulary work set them up to read the Time's article about what was happening in Ukraine as Russia invaded, annotating in the margins. We then looked at maps and discussed military might.
One of my students asked why Ukraine was so mad about the invasion. After all, they had been part of Russia before. We had just finished studying the Mexican-American War and one of my students replied that it would be like Mexico invading New Mexico and thinking that we New Mexicans shouldn’t be mad because we used to be part of Mexico. I loved the connection-making.
As part of a larger project on the theme of “nostalgia,” students were asked to think of a family recipe that made them nostalgic. But we also talked about the food that brings us comfort no matter where we find ourselves. To help students connect to the Ukrainian people, we talked about the comforts of borscht with information from this article about a chef who is leading a drive to recognize the soup as a Ukrainian cultural heritage.
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