Topical Tuesdays: The right to protest – KS2 News Story and Reading and Writing Activity Sheet from The Week Junior

On 21 March 2021, thousands of people gathered in Bristol to march against new laws that would give the police more power to stop protests.

This resources pack includes an article from The Week Junior magazine, along with a sheet of activities designed to get children thinking, talking and writing about what the story means to them.

Activities include:

• Mass protests would be fine if only people could behave themselves. The problem is, far too often these demonstrations get out of hand. Protesters have had plenty of chances to show their objections sensibly so perhaps it’s time to ban these gatherings altogether. Or is that going too far? People gather together and make a stand because it gets noticed. We already have laws to deal with people who commit acts of violence and vandalism, which should cover those who can’t protest peacefully. Do we really need a law to stop people gathering together, sitting down and chanting loudly? What do you think?
• Write a recount about a time when you successfully changed a grown-up’s mind about a decision you disagreed with.
• Think of an issue you feel strongly about and compose messages you could put on a placard to make people agree with you.
• Research and write an account of a large-scale protest that did result in the change the demonstrators were hoping for.

Find the entire series of Topical Tuesday resources to download here.

What is The Week Junior?

The Week Junior magazine looks at current affairs and helps children make sense of the world, provides context and clarity to complex issues, improves general knowledge and encourages discussion and debate.

To find out more about The Week Junior and to download its free resources, please go to schools.theweekjunior.co.uk.

This resource is part of the News Activities Archive collection.
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• News story
• Activities sheet