Topical Tuesdays: When the ship got stuck – KS2 News Story and Reading and Writing Activity Sheet from The Week Junior

On 23 March, a huge ship got stuck in the Suez Canal, causing a traffic jam of hundreds of ships.

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:

• The blockage of the Suez Canal held up an enormous amount of shipping, causing a great deal of inconvenience and waste. Isn’t it time to think carefully about how much stuff every nation imports from other countries? Surely buying things that are produced closer to home would help our British businesses while reducing transport pollution? Or is international trade an important way of bringing the world together and maintaining peace? What do you think?
• Have you ever been responsible for a blockage or delay that caused an inconvenience for others? Write a recount describing what happened, why you did what you did and what, if any, consequences you faced.
• Imagine you are the captain of the ship that got stuck in the canal. Write a diary entry for the day that it happened.
• Research and write a brief report about the building of the Suez Canal.

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.
View more from this collection

• News story
• Activities sheet