Whale Rider Whether you’re planning ahead for what to teach in June or you’re looking for last-minute June teaching ideas, we have suggestions for easy, classroom-ready lesson plans and discussion guides to help you teach with film.
June Teaching Highlights
June is Pride Month. Support LGBTQ students, colleagues and community members with Finding Pride.
June is Gun Violence Awareness Month & June 7 is Gun Violence Awareness Day. Start productive conversations in your classroom and community about gun violence with Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down.
June 18 is International Day for Countering Hate Speech. We recommend our webinar about Anti-Bias Education: Using Media to Foster Critical Thinking and Combat Antisemitism and Islamophobia. The session provides an overview of anti-bias teaching tools and as well as strategies for dealing with difficult classroom situations around these topics. This webinar is available free and on-demand through Share My Lesson. Participants can quality for one hour of PD-credit. Learn more about our Anti-Bias Education Webinar.
More June All-Month Events
June is Aphasia Month. Gabby Giffords survived a gunshot to the left side of her brain, which left her with aphasia. Our Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down Discussion Guide, available in English and Spanish, explores her experience of rehabilitation and recovery. Also check out this free lesson from PBS Newshour at Share My Lesson about How Gabby Giffords Used Music to Rewire Her Brain and Gabby Giffords’ Interview in Ability Magazine.
Black Music Appreciation Month is the perfect time to teach with Summer of Soul, a celebration of the 1969 Harlem Music Festival. This is a moving and joyful film that’s great for the end of the year.
June is National PTSD Awareness Month and June 27 is National PTSD Awareness Day. We warmly recommend Big Sonia about Holocaust Survivor turned Holocaust Educator Sonia Warshawski for teaching about PTSD to grades 7 and up.
June is World Refugee Awareness Month and June 20 is World Refugee Day. Check out our resources for Bringing Refugee Stories to Your Classroom for grades 4 to 12. Including a film/book pairing!
Teach about Public Health in June
Teach about the importance of public health, access to healthcare, and healthcare inequities with The Invisible Shield for Men’s Health Month and Men’s Health Week (June 10-16) plus World Aids Vaccine Day on May 18 and World Wellbeing Week (June 26-30). Inspire students about careers in public health!
Special Weeks in June
June 17-23 is Learning Disability Week 2023. Like Stars on Earth is a great choice for teaching about dyslexia. It’s a film filled with joy that students love.
Special June Teaching Days
June 3 is Love Conquers All Day: Teach about the love of nature and the nature of love with The Love Bugs.
June 5 World Environment Day: Get standalone environmental lessons in our new Environmental Studies Lessons collection.
June 6 is Russian Language Day. Teach about inspirational Russian political dissident and champion of democracy Alexei Navalny with Oscar-winning documentary NAVALNY.
June 7 is Gun Violence Awareness Day. Start productive conversations in your classroom and community about gun violence with Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down.
June 8 is World Oceans Day. For students in grades 5-7, learn about whales with Whale Rider.
June 12 is Anne Frank’s Birthday. Complement your teaching of Anne Frank’s diary with our Holocaust Education Teaching Tools, including Schindler’s List, Big Sonia, Defiant Requiem and more.
June 17 is World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. We recommend two engaging films about desertification causes and solutions: Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops and The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind.
June 20 is World Refugee Day Check out our resources for Bringing Refugee Stories to Your Classroom for grades 4 to 12. Including a film/book pairing!
June 20 is World Chimpanzee Day, a great day to teach about pioneering primateologist Jane Goodall with National Geographic’s documentary JANE. Learn more about teaching with this film with our article at Share My Lesson: Inspiring a Love of Nature and Learning: Celebrating Jane Goodall.
June 21 is World Music Day. Celebrate music, culture and global education with Chevalier, Defiant Requiem, Landfill Harmonic, Like Stars on Earth, Summer of Soul, and The Music of Strangers.
June 22 is Positive Media Day. Our Global Education Films collection features coming of age stories sure to inspire students of all ages. Check out The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind, The Cup, Wadjda and Whale Rider!
June 26 is International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking: Greener Pastures provides a thoughtful and sensitive look at hardship, addiction, mental health and resilience.
June 27 is National PTSD Awareness Day. We recommend our Mental Wellness Teaching Resources and in particular we recommend Big Sonia.
June 28 – July 3 marks the Stonewall Riots Anniversary. For a How It Started / How Its Going pairing, complement your Stonewall Riots lessons with Finding Pride from the It Gets Better Project.
June 28 is Matariki, the beginning of the new year in the Māori lunar calendar. Celebrate Māori culture with Whale Rider.
June 29 is International Day of the Tropics. Teach about the critical ecological importance of the Amazon Rainforest and what we can do to preserve it with River of Gold.
